| What Is Soccer Across America |
Soccer Across America (formerly Soccer Start) is designed to introduce the sport of soccer to children living in communities not yet served by existing clubs and leagues. Focused on making soccer available to lower-income children in underserved communities, Soccer Across America provides soccer training and administrative guidance to players and organizations that might not be exposed to the sport.
Soccer Across America also helps new programs find the funding and equipment to begin and then expand their activities. Over the past several years, Indiana Soccer’s Soccer Across America program has donated thousands of dollars in financial support, equipment and administrative assistance to programs across the state of Indiana.
“Soccer Across America has one goal in mind - to make the game of soccer accessible to all children. Through this program, we have a great opportunity to positively impact the lives of those youth who might not otherwise enjoy this experience.” – Indiana Soccer.
Program Goals
Reach out to children in underserved communities and socio-economically disadvantaged areas in order to offer them an ongoing program of positive sports activities through soccer. Provide a positive activity outside of school which will encourage exercise and increase awareness of one’s own health through sports. Increase an individual’s self-esteem through participation in an organized and supportive program of team activities. Build positive social and life skills.
Each program starts differently and is created locally to meet the unique needs and capabilities of the organization and players. Programs in the nation’s largest cities may include thousands of children. Yet, there are hundreds of small programs that focus on one or two teams, one group of kids in a single household, or one corner of a rural farming community.
Programs may last for as a little as a few weeks or follow the more traditional spring/fall format. Depending on your field availability you may decide to play indoor/futsal during the winter and provide outdoor mini-camps during the summer. Use your imagination and be willing to adapt to your communities strengths and volunteer base.
Many programs adopt traditional soccer rules with full-sized fields and full-length games, while others choose to introduce soccer through “small-sided games” on smaller fields. The choices about how to begin are as varied as the places in which they begin. Soccer Across America can help your program decide on how to get started by providing the administrative assistance and start-up equipment to ensure a successful program for years to come.
Financial Support
Individual/Club donations, Private/Corporate donations, Indiana Soccer, United States Youth Soccer,
Indiana Soccer Foundation, Grants, New team uniforms from individual Travel/Recreational Teams and Clubs, Leftover T-shirts and Trophies from your Club's tournament(s)
Volunteers
Soccer Across America Committee members from all Districts, Coaches/trainers , Referees.
Equipment/Personnel Needs
Identify one soccer Soccer Across America representative in each of the Indiana Soccer Clubs
Increase the professional/college teams involvement with Soccer Across America
Provide small sided goals
Promote corporate sponsorship of the program
For further questions please contact us at:
Indiana Soccer
19000 Grand Park Blvd. Suite J
Westfield, Indiana 46074
Phone: 317-975-2020