Over the past decade, soccer has been one of the fastest-growing sports in Canada, especially with younger kids.
A big reason for that is the low expense, especially at the introductory level. To get started all you really need is a ball and a place to play.
And that is the premise behind the Kids In The Park summer soccer program, put on by Saskatoon Youth Soccer.
“We run it in the summer months,” Saskatoon Youth Soccer executive director Amanda Probe said.
“July and August, Monday through Friday, from 10:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. We hit up 47 different locations throughout the summer, which means we hit up 10 locations a day. Any given hour, we are at two locations.”
And once again O’Reilly Insurance and The Co-Operators are on board to sponsor the program in its 14th summer of bringing soccer to the community, free of charge.
“If you look at the kids behind me playing, look at the joy and smiles on their faces,” said Decan O’Reilly, of O’Reilly Insurance. “And it’s something that they can go back home again and get a soccer ball, and play in their backyard as well.”
“It’s nice to see how many kids love playing soccer,” program leader Sierra Davey stated.
“Because I grew up playing soccer and it was one of the fun things I looked forward to and it’s nice to put it back in the community.”
The soccer program welcomes all participants, big and small, and runs from July 5 to Aug. 19.