It is one of the oldest and most popular sports on the global stage. However, it is a sport that many Americans are just beginning to fall in love with.
If you take a drive by the Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Complex (CVYSC) on a typical weekend, you will see hundreds of die-hard soccer moms and dads partaking in the fastest growing sport for American youth.
I grew up in a central Iowa community where soccer was King. At the age of six, we struggled to grasp the concept that you just couldn’t pick up the ball and run. But over the years we developed some skills, learned the game and claimed a state championship title. Since then I have witnessed first-hand the infatuation that the rest of the world has with this sport after traveling to Africa, South America and numerous countries in Europe.
Known to the rest of the world as football, soccer continues to entice and charm many Americans, especially as of late. The popularity of soccer has significantly improved, especially in the 1990’s when the U.S. hosted the World Cup. The growth could also be credited to the birth of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996, which has attracted and maintained fans, and continues to organize professional soccer matches across the nation. At the highest level, Team USA recently lost to Brazil, 3-2, in the final of the Confederations Cup, generally regarded as the biggest international measuring stick outside the World Cup.
This professional success has trickled down to the younger generations. U.S. Youth Soccer boasts more than 3.2 million participants annually, up from around 100,000 in 1974. A look at the significantly high number of teams participating at the 2009 Iowa Summer Games and huge involvement locally with the Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Association (CVYSA) tells me that the sport of soccer is here to stay.
The purpose of the CVYSA is to promote and foster the game of soccer at the youth amateur level in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls metropolitan area and surrounding communities. The Association carries out its purpose by sponsoring recreational and competitive soccer teams for youth younger than 19 by providing training opportunities for coaches and referees.
In 2000, a centralized soccer facility in the Cedar Valley became a reality with the completion of the Cedar Valley Soccer Complex. The facility boasts 15 fields, one of which is also home for the University of Northern Iowa women’s soccer team.
The best part about the CVYSA is that it is a non-profit organization with 26 area communities having teams within the league. The Association has grown from 186 players on 12 teams in 1992 to nearly 4,000 players on 281 teams in 2000. Nearly a decade later the amount of participants are through the roof and the CVYSA complex proves to be one of the most popular places for families to spend their weekends in the Spring and Fall.
This project is unique thanks to the tremendous team effort between the CVYSA Planning Committees, the Cities of Waterloo and Cedar Falls, local businesses, and the private sector. The nearly two million dollars required to construct this project was accumulated largely through donations.
Along with the private sector, both Waterloo and Cedar Falls contributed financially along with grants from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Soccer Federation. The Complex is a culmination of more than five years of planning and design by a team of dedicated volunteers devoted to promoting soccer in the Cedar Valley.
The CVYSA offers Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14, and Under 19 age divisions in the communities of Aplington/Parkersburg, Cedar Falls, Denver, Dike/New Hartford, Gladbrook/Reinbeck, Grundy Center, Hudson, Independence, Jesup, La Porte City, Traer/Dysart, Tripoli, Waterloo and Waverly/Shell Rock.
As these younger generations grow older and the participation continues to attract people of every age, don’t be surprised if soon the United States finds its way to the top of the podium in the world’s most popular sport.
Eric Braley is host and producer of “Panther Sports Talk,” a weekly UNI Sports TV show airing Sunday nights on KWWL after the 10:00 news and throughout the week on CFU Hometown Channel 15. |
