Optimist program touts fundamentals, sportsmanship
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Coaches Tim Martin and Joanne Haidle break a team huddle with a cheer, all part of the action on a busy Saturday morning of youth soccer in Aurora.
Soccer balls are flying every which way on a typical Saturday spring morning in Aurora, even more so this year as the Optimist Youth Soccer program reports a record number of participants.
The energy on the field is palpable, organizers say, due in part to COVID restrictions being lifted and allowing kids to be kids, combined with growing support for the game itself.
“There isn’t anything better than driving by the fields on a Saturday morning and seeing hundreds and hundreds of people, half of them little kids and half of them really happy parents and grandparents pulling their hair out, rooting for their kids on the soccer field,” said Tim Sullivan, one of three Optimist committee members in charge of the program. “It’s just a lot of fun for everyone.”
There are five fields involved, each hosting games on six consecutive Saturday mornings for players age kindergarten through sixth grade.
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