Soccer in the outfield -- teams practice anywhere - Dan Rodgerson

Soccer in the outfield -- teams practice anywhere
The Greenville News - Greenville, S.C.
Author: Ishmael Tate
Date: Nov 14, 2003
Start Page: A.11
Section: A Section
Text Word Count: 485

Document Text
Sport's growth strains county's rec facilities

By Ishmael Tate

STAFF WRITER

itate@greenvillenews.com

Soccer has grown; the number of fields has not kept pace.

Foothills Premier Soccer Club, the third largest organization in Greenville County, only had one field at Northside for their under-12 through under-18 teams, said president Jay Crane, 34.

His teams used the baseball outfields at Gateway park and Westside park.

"It was a bear to get that many people on three or four little areas. The county assigned all the teams basically an hour and half or two hours of time to practice on patches of grass," he said.

It's common to use baseball outfields for soccer fields, said Dan Rodgerson, the recreation district's executive director. The district has 24 soccer fields, and to preserve game fields, teams generally do not practice on them, he said.

Although plans for eight to 10 more athletic fields are in the works, the district is struggling to keep up with Greenville's growth, he said. "The No. 1 need that sufaced from a study commissioned by the County Council was more athletic fields," he said.

Foothills coaches used cones and bookbags to mark unlined fields, Crane said. They often shared the fields with three to five other teams.

"Name any field around here and we've been there," said soccer dad David Masters, 45. "We've always had to change fields."

Their teams have traveled to Furman University, churches and even as far away as Greer to practice, said parent Cindy Davis. A central place where soccer teams could have a complex would be ideal, Masters said.

Soccer teams have to share fields with football, baseball and adults playing after work, said parent Eddie Landreth, 36.

"Plus, football is king up here, so when the season starts we've got a time conflict," he said.

Ideally, fields would rest between seasons to maintain quality, Landreth said. With constant practices and games on the fields, that doesn't happen, he said.

Andrew Hyslop, 36, director of coaching for Greenville Futbol Club, said the club's 1,100 players play on fields at Wenwood Soccer Complex, East Riverside Park and Sunset Park in Mauldin, but still need more, he said.

"We would love to have four fields to better serve our members," he said.

St. Giles soccer teams have access to 10 fields, said Pearse Tormey, the executive director. Those 10 fields can equal between 16 and 18 fields for younger teams and the club will eventually add two more full size fields, he said.

"Some people think the kids think they should just play games. If the kids can't train and practice, they're not going to get a whole lot better," he said.

Ishmael Tate can be reached at 298-4020.

Cutline:

TANYA ACKERMAN / Staff

At Northside County Park: Jay Crane, 34, president of Foothills Premier Soccer Club, coaches on the outfield of a baseball field with Jorge Jaramillo, left, and Zachary Masters.

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