Friday, January 29, 2010

Charlotte and NYC Street Soccer Come Together


The Street Soccer USA Street Court made possible by the US Soccer Foundation, Sport Court and Athletica is causing quite a stir. Different from artificial turf, the street soccer court offers a fast-paced, small-sided indoor or outdoor game. Built in 2005, Street Soccer USA uses the field annually in Washington DC to host the Street Soccer USA Cup, for US Homeless National Team training in New York, and for SSNYC training.

Last week, the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association rented the field for a tournament event in Greensboro, NC. Street Soccer players, staff, and volunteers from Charlotte, NC and New York City collaborated to make this event a success: setting up and taking down the plastic court, the walls, goals and nets behind each goal. Charlotte players Luis and Osman reminisced playing on the street court in August of 2009 at the Street Soccer USA Cup, when Charlotte placed 8th out of 16 teams. New York player TK and Charlotte midfielder Osman found common ground in their shared heritage and their love for the game. Thanks for having us NCYSA and to HELP USA for making it possible. Looking towards the 2010 USA Cup and to the new teams that will be joining the tournament for the first time!

4 comments:

Tony said...

How does the surface feel to play on. I have played on the synthetic stuff and it was alright, but nothing like real grass. Do you intend to get more centers like this going? How do you go about raising funds for something like this?

Lawrence said...

this more mimics the street and it's basically a futsal like service. it is nothing like grass, but it is lots of fun and the strategy and quick skills of four aside is great for training and technical development. Because of our mission we can get special pricing and YES, we want to develop more fields. The great thing is that our version is very portable, which is very attractive. Our program in Ann Arbor, run the the Washtenaw County Social Services is putting their pitch up oustide the local indoor soccer arena and creating a league that raises money for the program and increases exposure to street soccer. We have some material if you are interested in trying to raise money, so just reach out and we will share our model. thanks!

Lawrence said...

btw, Dave, I don't know if you are checking this, but te veo grande huevon, has crecido peso? Daniel se ve mas chico que vos. My how things change. Call me! Lawrence

Lawrence said...

one more thing, nc soccer already reserved this again for next year. anyone interested in renting the pitch, contact rob at rob@streetsoccerusa.org