SUNDRE – The Sundre Soccer Club has opened the door offering adults an opportunity to play as well.
Tara Homa, a coach for the U9s whose love of the sport spans back to her youth, got the ball rolling on the new program.
“I played lots of soccer when I was a kid, and I wanted to have adults in our community be able to have a space to be active together and do something fun,” Homa told the Albertan on the evening of Wednesday, April 30 at the soccer fields in Sundre’s southeast during the season’s first practice scrimmage.
With the support of the club’s president, Janelle Mikal, Homa put out the feelers to gauge interest in the community.
“We reached out to Big Country Soccer Association just about the costs of insurance,” said Mikal.
“We threw it out there to see if there was an interest, and there was,” she said.
“I didn’t know what to expect at all; I was scared it was going to be me and my husband and Janelle sign up and that’s it,” said Homa.
But she turned out to be pleasantly surprised by the turnout of 15 players that evening, which included some who came out from Olds as well as Mountain View County and of course Sundre.
“We have enough to play a full game,” she said, adding she was impressed by the level of skill several players brought to the field.
However, anyone is welcome regardless of previous experience.
“People are having fun and being active,” she said.
“That’s what I wanted, a space for us to come and not just be about the kids. The kids are super important and we do so much for youth, but I wanted a space for the adults to come have fun and do something active together.”
For the time being, games will be informal in-house matches but bigger events might be set up depending on how everything goes, she said.
“Other clubs in the Big Country Soccer Association are going to see this and want to join in and then we can set up kind of a league.”
The co-ed adult league, for players ages 16 and up, takes place every Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. until June 25 with registration remaining open the whole time. Visit www.sundresoccer.com to register.
Mikal said the club is looking forward to a successful season, and has fielded the following teams: one U9, one U11 and one U13 in the competitive league as well as two U5, two U7 and one U9 recreational squads.
There are overall approximately 125 registered players in both the club’s recreational and competitive teams, she said.
