Letter To The Editor: Dr. Smith Advocates for HS Soccer Programs
Description: Patrick Smith submitted this letter to area school boards and officials advocating for high school soccer.
Letter To The Editor: Dr. Smith Advocates for HS Soccer Programs
I am writing to continue the discussion of incorporating the sport of soccer in area high schools. We are requesting the high schools in the Arkansas Valley start both a girls & boys soccer programs in this area. Soccer is an incredibly popular sport across the state, country and world, and we would like representation for this sport in our area.
Now, I know when someone in this area says the word “SOCCER”, there are many in positions of power who instantly have a negative reaction. The mental walls come up instantly, the fists clench, blood pressure rises, and, as a physician, I can see the sphincters puckering.
What we are calling for is a group of people from the schools & area to form a feasibility committee to honestly, openly and without pre-conceived bias evaluate the possibility of forming a high school soccer program for girls (who play in the spring season) and boys (who play in the fall season). Fortunately, a group of dedicated parents have already done much work & effort to formulate this idea.
We all know that we need more opportunities for our children.
There is a huge interest in our region for soccer. The youth recreation soccer league is the most popular youth sport in this region. Hundreds of children participate in soccer every spring season. Many of these children would like to continue participating in soccer past the sixth grade level through the recreation programs. Unfortunately, since soccer and the other sports end after elementary school there is no further opportunity to play soccer in this area.
Soccer is a wonderful sport. It is an engaging, demanding and character building-activity for both boys and girls. It is a sport that can be played well into adulthood. In addition, soccer is cost effective and does not require a huge investment to maintain. Moreover, there are more than enough students in this area to allow for the development of a quality soccer program without affecting other existing sports.
Moreover, there is a successful college program for both men and women's soccer in La Junta at Otero Junior College. Soccer programs also exist at many other community colleges and four-year colleges throughout our state. There are 24 scholarships available at the Otero College for female soccer players & 24 scholarships available for male players. Lamar is starting a college soccer program and CSU-Pueblo has a thriving soccer program. The coaches for both the women's and men's soccer teams at Otero College have both stated they fully support the development of a high school soccer program that would be able to feed into the community college teams. Please look at that—there are 48 scholarships for soccer in our own backyard—what a great path to education for our children!
I and many others have spent the last few years speaking with recreation departments, school boards and school administrators about expanding soccer. Unfortunately we have been met with everything from apathy to excuse making to downright hostility. One school says they are too small, another says they always do everything, others say there is no interest, etc. etc. It goes on and on and on.
As leaders in the community, we need to do better. We need to be innovative. We need to avoid stagnation. We need to think outside the box.
First--one high school would start the soccer teams. Students from all of the other schools in the region would be able to participate. Students from Fowler, Manzanola, Crowley County, Rocky Ford, Swink, La Junta, Cheraw, Las Animas, Pioneer Christian and Kim would all be welcome to play, as well as home schooled children. There is already precedence for this idea with the girls swim team, golf teams, and softball teams, which are shared between schools.
Second--Several of the schools in this area would be wonderful for a soccer team location.
Third--the team would be able to join the same league where Lamar High School already plays. They are apart of the Tri-Peaks League. This past season, Lamar played the teams from St. Mary's, Manitou Springs, Colorado Springs Christian, Salida, Atlas Preparatory, James Irwin, Liberal Kansas, Pueblo South, The Vanguard School, Pueblo County, DSST, Fort Lupton, Sterling and Pueblo Central. We need representation from the Arkansas Valley region in soccer. Joining this league would be ideal, and the new team would have an instant rivalry with Lamar.
Fourth--finances. First of all, we should not be afraid of spending money on our children. Second of all, we already have over $15,000 pledged from community members & businesses to make soccer a reality. Finances are not a barrier. There are many companies and individuals throughout our community who would be willing to donate money to help start a soccer program at the high school level.
Fifth--good for children. There are currently not enough activities for children in our area. Having more diverse options and more opportunities for all students would be a great benefit for our children and our community. Studies after studies have repeatedly shown that participation in activities such as youth sports improves mental health, reduces teenage pregnancy rates, decreases delinquency and betters long-term health, as well as develops character and leadership skills in youth.
Sixth—out eastern neighbor, Lamar, has already shown us the way. They have had successful soccer programs for over a decade. In the fall, they have four successful sports opportunities for boys in soccer, golf, cross country & football. If they can do it, so can we!
Now, we know from experience that everyone looks first for reasons not to have soccer. The gut reaction is to say “No” and then justify the position. Let me address some of the common concerns that have been raised:
Concern #1—Soccer is not good for the region
The first question to be answered is determining whether a soccer program would be beneficial to the students, school & community by assessing the positives & negatives of the idea
a. Benefits
i. Students
1. Improved physical, mental & emotional health of the participants
2. Less teen pregnancy
3. Decrease delinquency & usage of illicit substances
4. Improved academic performance
5. Increased diversity, creativity & options
6. Increase ability to attend college
a. Participation in extra-curricular activities improves college admission rates
b. OJC currently offers 24 men’s & 24 women’s scholarship for their soccer teams
7. Teaching a sport that can be played for life
ii. School
1. Improved school spirit through participation
2. Potential to attract students to the district
3. Promoting diversity & inclusion for a wider array of students
4. Increased inclusion of those students not currently being served by the existing school sports options
5. Improved college attendance rates among graduates
iii. Community
1. Improved community engagement
2. Bringing children & families from the region together
3. Lower long-term health care costs by promoting healthy lifestyles
4. Reducing delinquency, teenage substance abuse & teen pregnancy
b. Negatives
i. None
Concern #2—No one is interested in soccer
The truth is when people tell me, “No one is interested in soccer,” what they really should say is, “No one in a position of power is interested in soccer.”
The second question to be answered is whether there is interest in the proposal from among the students in this region. The answer is an overwhelming yes.
c. Interest
i. It has been argued by certain school boards & the recreation departments that there is simply little interest in the sport of soccer in this area
ii. The facts do not agree with the statement that there is no interest in soccer
iii. There is a HUGE interest for high school soccer in this region
1. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world
2. This spring, the La Junta Recreation department expanded to include an unprecedentedly successful inaugural seventh & eighth grade soccer league
a. With minimal support from the schools & with only around one week of warning, 38 children from five different communities participated
b. Towns of interest
i. 1 - Manzanola
ii. 2 - Fowler
iii. 3 - Cheraw
iv. 13 - Swink
v. 19 – La Junta
c. Extrapolating these impressive numbers to high school, there would be at least 76 children in four grades levels who would be interested in playing soccer
d. And remember, this turnout was with very little anticipation. Imagine if we actually put our full effort into this. More than enough students. Probably enough to form a couple teams.
3. Number of participants in the current recreation leagues (2021-2022)
a. Football—317 recreation participants—leads to eight high school teams
b. Volleyball—280—leads to eight high school teams
c. Cheerleading—160—leads to eight high school squads
d. Basketball—336—leads to 16 high schools teams
e. Baseball—573—leads to seven baseball teams & two softball teams
f. Cross country, track & golf have no youth recreation leagues yet have high school teams
g. Soccer
i. 548 participants this past spring season
ii. Typically have 600-800 participants
iii. This many players would certainly be able to field both a girls’ & a boys’ team
4. Look at how many people in the community support soccer
d. Numbers—it has been argued by board members that there simply are not enough students in this area to add another sport. Again, the facts do not support such as conclusion
i. There are plenty of potential participants in our area.
1. School
Fowler
Manzanola
Crowley County 75 69
Rocky Ford 106 106
Pioneer Christian 6 7
Swink
Las Animas
Cheraw
La Junta
Total students: 548 555 Total 1,103 students
e. For a local comparison, Lamar High School has 453 total students (Girls & Boys)—has four fall sports for boys (football, golf, cross country & boys’ soccer). It also has multiple spring sports (golf, baseball, cheer, track & girls’ soccer).
f. If you open this up to children from all schools in this area, there will be way more than sufficient numbers of students to form both a boys’ & a girls’ team.
g. Further, in the fall, less than 200 boys from the area participate in their school football team. That means that over 60% of the boys are not playing participating. In the spring, over 70% of the girls are not participating in a sport. What are we doing to engage these children? Are we simply going to write them off and say they are not worth our efforts?
Concern # 3—Money money money!
The third question to be answered is the feasibility of adding another program
h. Financial
i. Of course, we should make sure that a new program is cost effective
ii. Soccer, compared to the other sports, is very economical
iii. Discussion with the Lamar athletic director put their costs at less than $14,000 per year, broken down in the following manner
1. Coaches $4500 (head coach) $3600 (assistant)
2. Uniforms $500
3. Supplies $500
4. Officials $2175
5. Gas $1500
6. Bus-drivers $1000
iv. Our costs should be even less
1. We have 70 miles less each direction to travel
2. We pay our first year head coaches only $3800, and assistants even less
v. There is money to be found to support this idea:
1. At the recreation board meeting in La Junta in June 2021, where Soccer was discussed, without even being asked, members in the crowd offered $3500 to help support Soccer. Again, nobody even asked. Imagine if you actually solicited funds for this endeavor. Currently, there is over $15,000 in pledged donations from various people around the area.
2. There are also opportunities to explore with OJC, CSU-Pueblo, Colorado Rapids & USA soccer, just to name a starting point
3. OJC offers many many scholarships
vi. We should not be afraid to spend money on our children
Concern #4—It will take away from other sports
i. Competing with other sports—there is the argument that introducing soccer at a time when participation numbers are already low would negatively impact current sports programs.
i. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. This is football & baseball country; has been for decades. The majority of the programs in this area are run by football & baseball people who feel threatened with this new idea of a new sport. Starting soccer does not have the intention to stop those sports. They are wonderful sports. What we want is more variety & more opportunities for the children in this area who are not interested in those two traditional sports.
ii. Furthermore, the type of students who want to play soccer are not the same type of students who want to play football. You will get some very little loss from your football team.
iii. If you are worried about other sports suffering, that is called capitalism. If you are finding declining numbers in those sports, perhaps this means you are trying to sell something in which people are not interested. Why would we keep banging our heads against the wall trying the same thing over & over again—that is the definition of insanity? Try something new.
iv. Lastly, Lamar High School has a high school soccer program for both boys & girls for the past 10 years. They also have a successful football program, baseball, cross country, track, golf & more. If Lamar can successfully field all these teams with a mere 453 students, why could this area not do the same with more than double the number of students at 1,103?
v. More opportunities for children means less delinquency, better academic scores, better health, long-term savings to society.
Concern # 5—There are no facilities!
j. Facilities—As mentioned above—multiple towns would be ideal such as La Junta, Swink & Rocky Ford where they already have excellent locations in place for practice and games.
i. A team based in La Junta could have most practices at the intermediate school which already has fields & goals in place and could play their home games at the La Junta Tiger Stadium which already is marked for soccer.
ii. A team based in Rocky Ford would be able to play at their new stadium.
iii. A team based in Swink would be centrally located and could both practice and play at the school.
iv. Other schools might be an option.
Concern #5—There are no officials
a. Officials
v. Must be CHASA certified
vi. There are numerous certified officials in the area who would be able to perform these roles, many of whom are players at OJC
Concern #6—Where are we going to get coaches?
b. Coaches
vii. Mr. Johney Adame (Otero College Women’s Coach) has volunteered to coach the girls’ team in the spring season
viii. Several others such as Mr. Chris Smith have expressed interest to coach the boys’ team in the fall
ix. Both of these gentlemen are reputable coaches, having led teams at Otero College
Concern #6—CHSAA will not let us!
Actually, this is not true. I have spoken with Mr. Justin Saylor, who is the CHSAA director in charge of soccer, who was very encouraging & supportive of starting soccer in this region.
Where there is a will, there is a way!!
To summarize, the idea of initiating a soccer program is entirely feasible. A soccer program would have obvious benefits to the students, school & community. A soccer program would have ample interest among students & community members. A soccer program would be successful.
I encourage everyone, as people who care about children, to further the discussion, share this email with other interested parties and start soccer in the Valley.
If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to have an open-minded & honest discussion with me and everyone else.
Sincerely Yours,
Patrick Smith
303.946.8367
psmitty42@yahoo.com
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