The Houston Soccer club has seen a record number of registrations for its 2021 soccer season.
The club had its registrations from Mar. 24 to Apr. 13 and by the time the registrations had closed, they received a record 156 registrations for the upcoming season.
“We are super excited to get this season underway, get the kids out of the houses and out on the fields,” said club President Sarah Opdendries.
The highest the club has ever seen before was 125 registrations in the past.
In fact, last year the club had to cancel their season due to lack of registrations and the restrictions set out by the public health order.
“I think that with COVID kind of taking centre stage last year, parents were hesitant to register their athletes just with all the uncertainties, and it was all still pretty new. And we as an organization were also hesitant due to the fact that a month prior Houston minor hockey was forced to shut down as well, it didn’t give us a lot of hope moving forward. Then with the lack of registrations on top of that, Houston soccer 2020 season was out of reach, and out of our control,” said Brent Opdendries, the vice president of the club.
Having the season this year is extremely important for the club. According to the club vice-president, soccer is more than just a sport but a commitment sport with a big impact, especially during these tough COVID-times.
“Kids can come out, hang out with their friends, make some new friends, kick a ball around, learn some skills, score some goals, and stay in shape. And for the parents the athletes usually end up having a better sleep. So it’s really a win win,” said Brent, “Organized sports also instills a lot of core values in younger athletes, it keeps them active, sociable, and they also learn discipline and organization. It also helps kids develop their athletic abilities, as well as hand eye co-ordination, and flexibility.”
This year the club will take extra precautions and make alterations to the way they run their organization to abide by the public health order.
“We can assure you that we are taking proper precautions to ensure the health and safety of all of our athletes,” said Brent.
“We look forward to seeing you all on the field. But safety is important so please come to the field with proper soccer attire.”
Priyanka Ketkar
Multimedia journalist
@PriyankaKetkar
priyanka.ketkar@ldnews.net
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