Welcome
to the new online home of the Fairfield-Suisun Youth Soccer League
Solano Soccer Club News
BREAKING NEWS: Matt Garcia Youth Center, Solano Soccer Club team up
By Ben Antonius
Daily Republic
FAIRFIELD — The smorgasbord of activities at the Matt Garcia Youth Center has one more offering: Soccer.
Well, not exactly soccer but rather futsal, a soccer variation played on a hard indoor surface -- in this case, the basketball court. The futsal program launched Saturday and continues every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.
“One of the gaps we had was soccer because we know there are lots of kids that want to play it,” said Heather Sanderson, a recreation program coordinator working at the center.
Futsal is an indoor version of soccer played between teams of five. Unlike other forms of indoor soccer, futsal doesn’t make use of wall or boards in the area of play, instead relying on out-of-bounds lines like traditional soccer. It is fun, simple to learn and will allow soccer enthusiasts to stay active year-round, said Tony Garcia, one of the volunteers and head coach of the Solano Titans, an under-16 boys team.
“We know futsal has taken off in a lot of communities so we expect that to happen here, too,” Garcia said.
The funding comes from a 2009 fundraiser put on by local police officers and the staffing comes from the Solano Soccer Club, which is supplying about eight coaches on a volunteer basis.
The availability of volunteer coaches was critical because the center only has a $6,000 budget for the program, Sanderson said.
“We got a little heartburn when we crunched the numbers,” she said. “(That $6,000) goes a long way but . . . if we wanted to run a program
every Saturday, we couldn’t afford the staffing.”
The money will instead be spent on equipment and potentially establishing a traveling team, Sanderson said. Staff from Just4Kicks, which conducts instructional soccer classes, would oversee the team. Regular attendance isn’t necessary to participate in the futsal program, Sanderson said. The goal is to offer casual pick-up games to as many kids as possible, she said.
“If they come every Saturday we will be happy to see them, if they come every other Saturday we will be happy to see them and if they just drop in every once in a while we will be happy to see them,” she said.
The Fairfield Police Activities League program at the Matt Garcia Youth Center is open to local active junior high and high school students. The center is open from 3 to 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and 3 to 10:30 p.m. Friday. Membership costs $10 a year and can be completed at City Hall at the Mall. For more information, call 422-6288
Solano Soccer Club
Visit Website
