Camp helps kids get a kick out of soccer

A summer program designed to promote soccer to kids kicks off its fourth year this month.

An initiative of Wasilla High School’s nonprofit Warrior Soccer Booster Club, the Little Warriors Soccer Academy seeks to introduce 3 to 6 year olds to the joys of the game while building skills that can lead to later competitive success. The camp is run by WHS girls soccer coach J.B. Schwartz.

A longtime soccer aficionado, Schwartz is a physical education teacher at Finger Lake Elementary School. He has been a coach at the high school since 2017, and became head coach in 2020.

“My experience as a high school soccer coach as well as an elementary school P.E. teacher makes this program the best of both my professional worlds,” he said. “One of the biggest benefits of team sports are the lessons we learn by being part of a group. I love giving young children the chance to be a part of that in a really fun and low-pressure environment.”

That effort has gotten a big boost the last three years with grants from the Mat-Su Health Foundation. This year, the Health Foundation provided $7,900. The funding helps keep the program accessible to more kids by offsetting expenses while providing fun physical activity during the summer.

“We are so thankful for the Mat-Su Health Foundation. This grant allows us to continue to do this program year after year,” Schwartz said. “It is vital to our ability to keep offering this to families as a way to learn new skills and be a part of a larger group at such a low cost.”

Such investments in community health and wellness are nothing new for the nonprofit Mat-Su Health Foundation. Since its inception in 2007, when it became part owner of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, the Health Foundation has turned more than $138 million of its share of hospital profits into scholarships, sponsorships, and grants to nonprofit organizations across the Valley, while continuing to help ensure that the hospital meets the needs of a growing population.

Coach Schwartz attributes the success of the summer program to across-the-board efforts of the high school soccer team and booster club. He praised the organizational prowess of soccer mom and WHS alum Michelle Sande, and the on-the-field contributions of assistant varsity coaches Allie Hewitt and Reese Sande, who are also former Warrior soccer players. Several current players on the WHS girls varsity team also lend a hand with the camp.

“The young kids love learning from and playing with these awesome teenage role models,” he said. “I think the Little Warriors Soccer Academy is such a great opportunity for young kids to learn this beautiful game in a way that is fun, engaging, and low-pressure. Our Warrior soccer community is truly wonderful, and we enjoy bringing some of the young families of the greater Wasilla community into it.”

FIND OUT MORE

https://sites.google.com/apps.matsuk12.us/whswarriorssoccer/girls-soccer