Growing the Game

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This article was published 27/09/2018 (2548 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Diego Rodriguez has dedicated many hours to soccer, from playing on a field in Colombia where he grew up, all the way to his current home in Brandon.

Rodriguez stood on a soccer field in the city on a warm summer afternoon, wearing matching white shorts and a shirt with “Fly Emirates” across the chest. He absentmindenly pushed the curly hair from his forehead as he spoke.

In Colombia, soccer was the major sport, Rodriguez said.

“As soon as you learn to walk you have a ball by your feet, and you just kick it around whenever you get a chance,” he said.

”Everywhere you go is just soccer, soccer soccer.”

His house in Colombia was situated right in front of a field, so Rodriguez developed a routine that was centred around the sport.

“What I would do is eat lunch, then take a ball and go play with my friends non-stop until the sun went out and I couldn’t be outside anymore,” he said.

In the city of Brandon where he now plays, the sport has experienced growth of it’s own, with many players who have immigrated to the city from different countries, as well as those born in Canada picking it up.

Of the kids who Elizabeth Hernandez coaches as part of the six week Westman Regional Soccer Association programming, the majority are from South America, with some from Asia and some Canadian kids as well.

“Definitely the diversity and multiculturalism has brought it forward and it’s been exciting because you’re seeing all these different kinds of angles and you’re understanding that kids from different backgrounds are coming in and having a good time,” Hernandez said.

The skills that they learn on a soccer field can be helpful as they grow up and move on to other things in life, she said.

“Building friendships through teams is important and getting to know other adults through coaching is important for kids to develop throughout their years, and how the climatize to new environments especially those that come from other countries,” she said.

It was a breezy day in late August, and tryouts were underway for the Brandon University men’s soccer team when Trending magazine came by. Players sat lacing up their cleats and pulling up their socks on the grass beside the Healthy Living Centre. One of them was Rodriguez. Although he was no longer kicking around a soccer ball in Columbia, he had brought that passion with him to Canada.

Motorists whizzed by on nearby 18th Street, seemingly unaware of the players waiting to showcase their skills. Some were hopeful first year students with something to prove, praying for a chance to play soccer at a university level, and others were confident — they’d already been on the team for the past few years.

For them, this was just another practice.

Rodriguez bounced the ball off his knee, then off his head, then kicked it with his foot. He was part of the BU team last year. The tall centre mid-field has seen the growth of soccer in the community first hand as a player.

“The university program has gotten bigger because now we’re not happy with just getting a couple of wins in the season, we’re working towards getting the banner and getting the championship,” he said.

Last year the team made it to the playoffs, but for the 2018 season they have their eyes on winning it all.

It’s a trickle down effect. When older players have success it helps the game grow at all levels of play, Rodriguez said.

“It impacts the youth because they see how we work hard for our goals and they want to follow in the steps of the older people,” he said.

Younger players can see a future with the sport now in Brandon with the success of those older teams, said Jesse Roziere, coach of the BU soccer team, and technical director for the Westman Regional Soccer Association.

They’ve set up a pathway of what it looks like for a youth soccer player in the region and what they can work towards, or where they can play right from three years old to senior men’s and womens, Roziere said.

They have kids in their current programming who have gone through all the different levels.

“We have some guys here that did start in the systems we currently have with the Westman FC or in the community that are now playing at the university level,” Roziere said.

“They’re also helping coach and work with those young players.”

Although soccer has already grown significantly in the area, there’s opportunity for it to get a lot bigger then it is now, Roziere said. There were around 1,200 kids registered in the Westman area this year, with 50 youth teams from U10 to U18.

The main area of growth is in the younger age groups, with the number of kids registered tending to drop with age. The goal for them is to retain the number of players at the younger levels, at each of the different levels of programming with the Westman Regional Soccer Association.

“Once we get that organizational structure, the technical programming setup and well organized, then I think we will retain those numbers as they move through their age groups, and then we can continue getting lots of kids at the younger age groups.”

The better competition will come as well when the technical programming of the association continues to progress, Roziere said.

“We’re already seeing a bit of an improvement.”

Organizers are looking to run year-round programming in the Westman area, which will also be helpful in getting people involved.

“There’s so many kids I think looking for an option through those spring and summer months that maybe didn’t have that option before.”

There’s quite a few kids who are involved with the summer program, including Avery Bournon, Kayla Macgranachan’s son. They were practicing behind the Meadows School in Brandon on a toasty day in August. Parents sat on the sidelines while they’re kids ran around and kicked the ball. It appeared that they were having the time of their lives.

“It gives him something to do instead of just sitting around at home watching TV or something, it’s activity, it’s exercise for him,” MacGranachan said.

The four year old has been playing soccer in the area for awhile now. Previously he played for a Timbits team.

“There was so many teams, I couldn’t believe it,” MacGranachan said. “Just general soccer and stuff that he started in, I was amazed at how many kids there were playing soccer.”

Hernandez thought the growth of the game in the community also had to do with affordability.

“I think it’s a very reasonable sport to pay for, and a lot of the kids it’s easier for them to run and kick a ball then it is maybe to pick up a stick and try to aim with a little puck that’s maybe not even the size of their hand,” said Hernandez, who’s been coaching in the area for the past four years.

As soccer becomes more popular in the area, the need for improved facilities has become more acute. If they had better options where they could play, the sport could become even more popular.

“The community stream league which is the old rec league, they play on the school fields in Brandon,” Roziere said.

“The other communities they have good facilities- in Rivers, Neepawa, Minnedosa, but in Brandon they play on the school fields for that league, and a lot of them are in rough shape. I think when we get proper facilities in that will really entice people to come back or to begin.”

There’s currently a committee that is working towards that goal, Roziee said.

The goal is to just keep growing and offer more people the chance to become involved with soccer.

“I think as we continue to build and allow these kids an opportunity and a location to continue to improve technically in the game and enjoy their experience, we’ll see the numbers skyrocket in a place like Brandon.”