A free program throughout the city will give youth the chance to develop a love for soccer. The O’Reilly Insurance Ltd & The Cooperators Soccer Kids In the Park has entered its 12th summer in Saskatoon. The program, put on by Saskatoon Youth Soccer, travels to 47 city playground sites, offering children drop-in soccer lessons and an opportunity to hone their skills.

Every day throughout the summer, two sets of certified soccer coaches each visit five parks around the city teaching one-hour sessions.

“The focus of the first half of the session is fun, interactive games with a soccer ball,” said Amanda Probe, Executive Director of Saskatoon Youth Soccer. “Then there’s a fun scrimmage. It’s a great way to stay active throughout the summer months if you’re looking for a fun activity for your family this summer.”

Summer is a great time to get youth introduced to soccer, she added, as a lot of children may not be involved in many activities and families will have more free time.

“It’s an important program because not everyone can participate in soccer, due to transportation or financial barriers,” said Probe. “But this program is free and walking distance from your own neighborhood park.”

The program has been growing in popularity steadily over the last 12 years, she said. There can be upwards of 40 children at a session and a total of 2,600 children over the course of the summer from communities around Saskatoon.

“I think this is a really cool program for the kids. We were just hanging out at the spray park and wandered over. Now my boys have something they can get involved in,” said a parent, who has sons aged two and four. “It’s nice to see members of the community putting together something like this for kids.”

This is the ninth year the program has had two sets of travelling coaches due to need for increased sessions, Probe said. Saskatoon Youth Soccer has been able to secure funding for the program through grants and community business sponsors such as O’Reilly Insurance and The Cooperators (title sponsor this year), Yokohama Tires, Affinity Credit Union, Xtratime Sports Soccer Locker, Virtus Group LLP, Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, Merlin Ford Lincoln, Sherwin Williams Paint, Saskatoon Adult Soccer, Tim Hortons, Rawlco Radio (C95, Rock 102, and 650CKOM), CTV News Saskatoon, Community Initiatives Fund, KidSport Saskatoon, City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Soccer, and Saskatchewan Lotteries.

O’Reilly Insurance Ltd. and The Cooperators are pleased to support such an exciting community program. “Our donation helps address important community needs,” explains Declan O’Reilly, financial advisor for The Cooperators. “Guided by our co-operative principles, we invest our profits into action and advocacy that makes the world a better place.” The funding was provided by O’Reilly Insurance with the support of The Co-operators Advisor Community Fund.

Soccer Kids In the Park runs July 2 to August 22, Monday to Friday from 10:30am to 5:00pm. It is open to children and youth of all ages and there is no need to register, just drop in! For a list of dates and parks the program will be visiting, go to www.saskatoonyouthsoccer.ca.