This past weekend saw the start of the Boundary Youth Soccer Association’s (BYSA) second season and officials are ready for more of the beautiful game.
“There are 27 teams this year, we have five divisions for kids from four years old to 14,” explained BYSA President Jeff Olsen. “The groupings are four and five year olds, six and seven, eight and nine, 10 and 11s and 12, 13 and 14s.”
Olsen says that the number of players at the peak period last year was about 280 and while there are only 230 as of last Thursday, the registrants should be more dedicated as they know what to expect in terms of commitment.
“One of the strong messages we sent out was it’s a team sport. The team relies on you, the other team you’re playing relies on you, everyone relies on people showing up and being part of a group,” said Olsen.
“Last year we were treated very much as a drop-in (sport). ‘I’ll come if I want to’ type thing, which was what soccer was in this area for quite a few years. We offer a really good thing for kids but we need the kids to be able to commit, we need the family to commit to bring the kids to the field, to carpool, to get them to the games.”
He said there were children who were not only signed up for soccer last year, but hockey and dance lessons as well, which can be taxing.
While the season has started, people can still register but the early birds have already received the worms and there are wait lists.
“On our website right now on the front page, you’ll see where the wait lists are, so there are certain teams that have filled up without a doubt and we’re not going to overload them, that’s just not fair to the kids that are on the team, it decreases their play time,” Olsen said.
“There’ll always be room somewhere but it just may not be where you want it.”
Olsen also said that while volunteer spots are all filled up, if someone wants to help out, he will try to accommodate.
Based on feedback last year, he said that the children really enjoyed the sport.
“There was a lot of positive (comments). Just wandering around the field and talking to parents and the amount of email I got and people with their comments when they registered this year were all very positive,” Olsen went on to say.
For more information, go to boundaryyouthsoccer.com.