If you’re heading to the 2018 Summer Youth Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at Mount Nittany Middle School, there will be a handful of groups you will want to visit if soccer is your thing.
Penn United Soccer Academy, Centre Soccer and Soccer Shots will all be in attendance at the event.
PENN UNITED SOCCER ACADEMY
“We’ll have coaches and information there,” said Penn United Soccer Academy ambassador Danny Orton. “We just want parents to have an opportunity to learn a little bit more about us and about the sport.”
Penn United Soccer Academy has been around since January 2011. It started with about a dozen players, according to Orton. Today, Penn United serves more than 250 players on more than a dozen teams. And, there are different teams for different skill sets. It doesn’t matter if your child is a beginner or a skilled player with experience, Penn United has a team available. For the extremely young soccer player, Penn United partners with Soccer Shots, which is designed to get children involved with soccer from a very young age.
“It’s the fastest growing youth sport in the United States. One of the big reasons why is that parents get to see their kids get out there, get some exercise and sweat,” Orton said.
Parents who are concerned about concussions, which are extremely common in contact sports such as football and hockey, should consider soccer. Rules have been put in place — especially for younger players — to lessen the chance of concussion and severe head injuries.
“There are rules in place that prevent the younger players from heading the ball,” Orton said.
In addition to the injury aspect, soccer’s popularity has risen for myriad reasons. One of those is the fact that soccer can be played throughout the entire year. Drive around Centre County during the spring, summer and fall months, and soccer fills up fields in the area. In the winter months, Penn United heads indoors.
“We have programs in the winter … we have gyms, we use C3 Sports. We have a grassroots program for the players who are just getting started,” Orton said.
But more than having fun, Orton has his eyes on a bigger prize — college scholarships. Penn United has placed more than 200 players into colleges around the United States.
CENTRE SOCCER
Centre Soccer took root in 1985 as the State College Soccer Club, which evolved from youth and adult recreation programs of the Centre Region Parks and Recreation Department, according to the organization’s website. The club’s purpose was to promote the game of soccer in all aspects of the game, including coaching, coaching education, training, officiating and player development. The group also was dedicated to locating and developing playing fields for soccer.
Realizing that State College was just a part of a larger Centre Region, the group evolved into the Centre Soccer Association.
Since 1991, CSA has developed innovative programming to include in-house recreational, developmental, instructional and competitive soccer experiences, and the organization holds a collaborative partnership with participating PA West clubs in the local district.
Current soccer programming is under the direction of the group’s technical director, Lisa Cole.
For more information about the group, email programs@centresoccer.com or visit representatives at the annual Summer Youth Fair.
SOCCER SHOTS
For youngsters looking to get into the game of soccer, the regional chapter of Soccer Shots is the perfect place to start.
Eric Wales, owner and director of the local Soccer Shots program, said the group is dedicated to introducing the game of soccer to young athletes ages 2 through 8. He said Soccer Shots focuses on skill and character development, and, perhaps most importantly, fun.
“We try to keep the kids attentive and enjoying themselves by playing games with a ball at each kid’s foot,” said Wales. “Some of the games we play are Pirate Ship and Animal Farm. They are designed to not only teach basic soccer skills, but also as a way to keep the kids smiling while they are knocking around a soccer ball.”
According to Wales, all coaches in the program undergo a rigorous training program, which not only benefits the advancement of game skills at a young level, but also creates a very communicative environment, allowing parents and families of those participating to be in tune with what their children are doing within the program.
Wales said there are more than 550 children across the Central Pennsylvanis region involved in the winter program. When spring and the warmer weather arrives, those numbers will balloon into 1,200 or more.
Currently, there are three programs available, including “The Minis,” which are 2- to 3-year-olds; “Classics,” for ages 3 to 5 years; and “Premiere,” which enrolls athletes 5 to 8 years of age.
“This spring, we’re going to add a fourth program,” said Wales, noting the group will begin a program geared toward children with special needs.
When the Summer Youth Fair rolls around, Wales said representatives from Soccer Shots will be on hand for giveaways and to let visitors know about spring programming and upcoming summer camps. Information will also be available to partnering soccer agencies, such as the aforementioned Penn United Soccer Academy and Centre Soccer.
Those who may not be able to attend the Summer Youth Fair and are seeking more information about the group are encouraged to contact Wales directly at (814) 590-6267, or via email at ericwales@soccershots.org.
