SPOTSWOOD–Teaching children about teamwork, sportsmanship and physical education, the Spotswood Soccer Club continues to educate youngsters on the art of soccer.
The club was created in 1979 and offers community-based soccer programs for ages four to 13, according to the club’s Vice President of Recreation, Gabriel Guzman.
Guzman said he has been volunteering for the club for about three years and he also is a coach for the Juniors Division.
“[For the Recreation] side of it what we do is, the kids can join up from age four, we help them to develop their soccer skills every week we have a team that they will play … to help the kids feel comfortable about playing soccer and learn about soccer,” Guzman said.
The club’s Recreation Program has four divisions that include the Youth Division for children in pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten; the Juniors Division for players in the first and second grade; the Seniors Divison for youngsters in third and fourth grade; the Premier Divison for youth in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade, according to information provided by the club.
Guzman said the club was created to try to bring the community together, and to help children learn about soccer and stay active.
For this past soccer season, the club’s Recreation Program had 10 teams, and for its Travel Program, there were four teams, according to Guzman.
“We are strictly soccer, but on the [Travel Program] side it’s a lot more competitive. With the recreation side what we do is all the children sign up and we break them up into teams, we have different coaches, and we have different coaches taking care of a certain amount of kids. … On the travel side, they actually play against different towns so it becomes a lot more competitive,” he said.
Guzman said last year on his team there were 13 kids.
“I had a practice once a week and then a game once a week, but we always played against the same team. So, if we had four teams, one week you would play one team, another week you play another team … and we would just keep rotating through a 10-week season,” Guzman said.
Guzman said the club’s program caters more towards the children by spending a lot of time with each individual, figuring out what their strengths and weaknesses are and tailoring practices around what benefits the team.
Another reason why a parent might want to sign up their child, Guzman said, “is basically to teach them [about] a team atmosphere. In soccer, it’s not about an individual that creates the team – it’s everybody working together. So, it helps the kids work together, it teaches them about sportsmanship and also you have to learn in life that you can’t win all the time. It’s good for them to understand good sportsmanship through winning and good sportsmanship when we lose as well.”
Guzman said for the younger teams in the Recreation Program, the club does not keep score, it’s about them learning how to play the sport. He said it is beneficial for them as children to start getting healthy and active and know that as life progresses they develop healthy habits out of joining these sports.
“We are always looking for volunteers at all different levels. We always have a need for people to volunteer, to help out with the fields doing the maintenance and lines on the field, coaching which is an excellent outlet for any parent,” Guzman said. “Whether they know soccer or are starting to learn about soccer, it’s a great opportunity for them to spend time with their children, spend time with community children and help them achieve their goals through soccer.”
Guzman said there many ways residents can get involved from coaching, score keeping to volunteering to be a team parent.
“I have [had] my team now for a couple of years and every single one of the kids that is on my team, my child included, I see them and how they progress through soccer and how they learn through soccer. It’s a great time to spend with the children and it brings the community closer,” Guzman said.
For more information visit www.spotswoodsoccer.com/Default.aspx?tabid=910489 or its Facebook Page.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.
