Russell Bruce
September 22, 2009
Zenobia Barrow
September 24, 2009
Like a red-headed step-cousin, soccer in south Louisiana has often taken a back seat to more popular sports.
But don’t tell backers of the Thibodaux Soccer Association the sport isn’t growing in popularity. The group’s president, Ricardo Rosado, has numbers to prove otherwise.
Approximately 500 youngsters turned out for the season’s kickoff last weekend, Rosado said. This spring, after bantam football, basketball and other sports end, he expects the numbers to surpass 500 enrollees.
And with the World Cup set to take place in 2010, the extra exposure will likely draw more players to the game, he predicts.
“It has taken off and is really becoming huge,” Rosado said of the sport. “What you are going to see in the next few years is it grow even bigger. A couple of years ago, a lot of people didn’t know much about soccer. Now, I think everybody is starting to learn. I think people are exposed to it more.”
Because soccer is played opposite football and basketball, youngsters do not have to choose just one sport to play. Rosado said that has benefited Thibodaux’s soccer league.
“We don’t want kids to have to make decisions about what sport they want to play,” he said. “We actually have a spring registration for those in flag and bantam football. We let those kids join if we have room, which we usually do.
“The spring is going to be the tell-tale of what our numbers really are,” he added.
The Thibodaux Soccer Association’s practice is to accept all children, no matter their previous experience. According to Rosado, a novice to the sport is as welcome as the player at the highest level.
Programs within the league are open to youngsters under age 6 to those age 14. The divisions are U6, U8, U10, U11 and U12.
Generally, after age 12, players seek out tournament teams, Rosado said.
His group and the Houma-Terrebonne and Lafourche soccer associations are discussing the creation of Division I soccer programs to ready players for high school teams.
“I’d like to see a truly established Division I level,” Rosado explained. “I know in speaking with the Houma-Terrebonne Soccer Association and the Lafourche Association, they are thinking the same way.
“We all want to expand the Division I level and start getting those kids together and, somewhere down the road, establish competitive soccer teams and train those kids,” he added.
A change to the Thibodaux Soccer Association’s bylaws will soon reflect that approach, he said.
Similar to bantam football, recreational soccer play would cut off at players age 13, Rosado noted. They would play at the Division I level.
“We want to help those kids that want to move forward because, after that, they start playing high school ball,” Rosado explained.
Rosado also endorses adding an adult league for grownups. Both the Houma-Terrebonne and Lafourche associations have had success with similar programs, he explained.
The Thibodaux Soccer Association’s player count is rising as the sport gains favor locally, according to the organization’s president, Ricardo Rosado. * Photo by KYLE CARRIER
