Youth Soccer Continuing to Gain Momentum

Soccer has always been the world’s game. Communities in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America literally shut down when the world cup or premier league championship come around. Here in the U.S., especially on the west coast, soccer is gaining serious momentum. Helped by two good recent showings in the world cup, top U.S. players playing at the highest levels in Europe and the continued expansion of Major League Soccer (MLS), the game is getting more exposure than ever before, which is helping fuel more participation at the youth levels.

Sting Premier Soccer Club in Coeur d’Alene got started in 1984 with just four teams and a couple dozen players. “We currently have 518 registered players on 40 teams, boys and girls, from 8 to 18 years old,” said Sting president Tony Norris.The club has grown into the third largest youth soccer organization in the state despite drawing from a relatively small community. Norris has two kids participating in the program, and when the volunteer position came open, he jumped at the opportunity. “I grew up playing soccer and was happy to see my kids want to play as well. I was already heavily involved in youth soccer in the area, and this seemed like a great next step.”

Norris plans to continue getting as much exposure as he can for the organization and a big part of that is the annual Hot Shot Tournament held May 8 through 10 here in Coeur d’Alene. This year there are 200 teams from Idaho, Washington, Montana and Canada. That’s up 50 teams from just four years ago. While great for the kids, this also provides a serious economic boost to the city of Coeur d’Alene businesses, hotels and restaurants before the main tourist season begins.

Director of coaching Mike Thompson has been with the organization since the beginning. “To see the kids of people I played with now playing is a pretty cool,” said Thompson who oversees the entire coaching staff at all levels of competition. Sting offers everything from recreational to serious training and competition for those who dream to play at the college level and beyond. Despite the growing national movement for kids to specialize in one sport for an optimal chance at earning a scholarship, Thompson encourages his players to participate in other sports as well. “We see great benefits in kids who do multiple sports and activities,” said Thompson. “I feel it’s good for young bodies and minds to cross-train between sports. They pick up different things from each and having different coaches gives them a lot of different perspectives.”

Associate director Nick Funkhouser is also a volunteer with the Sting. He believes kids are drawn to soccer because they get to make their own decisions during the game instead of being constantly coached or told exactly what to do in other sports. “This is a players’ game, not a coaches’ game. The kids make the decisions on the field unlike running set plays in basketball or football. As coaches, we teach them the skills to make the right decisions, but ultimately it’s up to them.”

Funkhouser also credits the added exposure for an uptick in participants. “It seems like every time the world cup happens, we see a spike.” The women’s world cup is this summer and everyone at Sting is expecting a few more phone calls once the tournament gets underway. During the last men’s tournament, Sting partnered with the Hayden Cinema who allowed teams to come in and watch the games on the movie screens. When teams travel to Seattle, they try and catch a Sounders game, and the organization is looking for other ways to get their players to live events featuring the top talent in the country.

Thompson believes the growth they’ve seen will only continue. “We have people calling and emailing every day wanting more information, so I don’t see this slowing down anytime soon.” Sting Premier Soccer Club offers kids a chance to play at a number of levels, and the game itself is great exercise for the body and the mind. Cleats, socks and a ball is all it takes to get started.

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