Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511170005
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Roanoke, for example, had 74 soccer teams this fall, each team averaging 16 or 17 players, said M.J. Safewright, the city's youth athletic specialist.
Most Roanoke youths become involved in soccer through neighborhood organizations, and Southwest Roanoke supports the largest contingent with squads of various ages coming from the Southwest Athletic Association, the Heights Club and the Greater Southwest Soccer Association.
Other strong soccer neighborhoods include Williamson Road, Garden City and, this year, Wilmont.
Safewright acknowledged that football and soccer run simultaneously in the city, "and a lot of kids feel they have to make a choice." Roanoke had 24 youth football teams this year, with up to 30 players on a team.
In Salem, football and soccer do not necessarily conflict, as about 30 teams that split among the city's four quadrants play soccer in the spring, said Charlie Hammersley, director of parks and recreation.
"We tie in with the schools," Hammersley said, pointing out that the high school season is in the spring. "We want to give kids the same opportunity to try all of the sports."
Hammersley said that Salem offers a girls' fall program and a select boys' league, the Salem Sabres, that plays in the fall.
Soccer is played during the fall in Botetourt County, according to Ken Myers, director of parks and recreation, and the number of participants is growing.
Botetourt is one of the few programs to offer soccer to children ages 5 and 6. Twelve teams, with 157 players, competed at the "biddy" level this fall. Another 40 teams, for ages 7 to 17, played in other age-level divisions.
Spring soccer is not an option, Myers said, because the popularity of baseball and softball consumes all available fields.
"We're really growing," Myers said, "and we're suffering growing pains incredibly."
Football and soccer run concurrently in Roanoke County, but more youths are involved in soccer, partially because of the many girls' teams, according to Ellen Agner.
Agner ticked off division names that included 57 girls' teams and 72 boys' squads this fall. County sections represented included Mount Pleasant, Vinton, Cave Spring, North Roanoke and Glenvar.
For more information on recreational soccer programs, call the following parks and recreation departments: Roanoke at 981-2236, Roanoke County at 387-6078, Botetourt County at 473-8326 and Salem at 375-3057.
by CNB