CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WWBT) – Parents don’t have to pay a penny this season for their students to play soccer in a program featured at certain Chesterfield County Public Schools.
Around 45 students at Ecoff Elementary School are a part of an after-school program ran by local soccer club First Touch Sports. It predominantly serves kids who are not able to pay the high costs of playing soccer.
“To know that we could provide this for families who have never been in an organized soccer program, it didn’t take a lot, it took no time, to agree to the program,” Brian Campos, the principal at Ecoff Elementary School, said.
Campos said a good portion of the students at Ecoff fall below the poverty line, deeming it a Title One school.
The need for something like this is there, he says.
This season is special. All the players at Ecoff, as well as 30 additional players at Elizabeth Scott Elementary School, will be playing soccer for free.
First Touch Sports received a grant called “Get On the Bus.”
“We are breaking down two barriers” Tim Ryerson, the Director of Chapter Management for the program, said.
The first one, Ryerson explained, is the pay-to-play model used across the country.
Receiving US Soccer funding, the grant provides each child with brand new cleats and shin guards, as well as a jersey and ball. It also offers tutoring for students, as needed.
“It works perfectly for a community that has financial needs and really at times is living pay check to pay check and has to keep a balanced budget,” Campos said.
The second barrier is the transportation to and from soccer.
“The school is the hub and then basically the school buses drive to the school, pick up the kids, and bring them to the fields so they can participate on the weekends,” Ryerson said.
How transportation will work at Ecoff and Elizabeth Scott is still being worked out.
All students will meet at Bensley Park on Saturday mornings for a fall season full of games.
“Soccer is just the vehicle for these kids to have opportunity,” Ryerson said.
The “Get on the Bus” program’s goal is to have 10,000 additional kids playing soccer by the 2026 World Cup.
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