Youth and adult soccer players will soon have a new venue to practice their footwork skills.
At the Jan. 26 meeting, City Council members voted to approve a resolution for the city to apply for a grant through the United States Soccer Foundation that will bring a mini pitch –- a small, illuminated, customized hardcourt space for individual and pickup soccer games –- to Murphy Park this April.
“I can’t wait,” said Ivan Aguilar, a senior varsity soccer player at Taylor High School, who attended the meeting with several of his teammates to express support for the initiative. “I have been playing soccer my whole life, and I remember when we would go play at the pavilion and act like it was indoor. It was kind of beat up. I am thankful this project is coming.”
At the meeting, city leaders heard more about the $105,000 project, which will be 80 percent funded from outside sources, including the foundation, Soccer Assist, 4ATX, and the St.
David’s Foundation, and 20 percent from the park’s general fund for master page 1
plan projects for this fiscal year.
Aaron Rochlen, the founder of Soccer Assist, an Austin-based nonprofit, which is spearheading the effort and has helped put in five such projects in our region, said despite the small size, people can use them to improve their game and provide a safe and fun place to play.
“One of the awesome things about these courts, it has been actually proven to help technical skills in soccer to play this futsal and small-sided court,” Rochlen said “I have actually seen as much as 10-by-10 play on these courts. But then there is just a beauty of free play, without coaches and without screaming parents.”
According to Parks and Recreation Director Tyler Bybee, the project will involve repurposing one of the two basketball courts in Murphy Park and installing a 50 by 84-foot court with Musco lighting, that can be used not only for the pickup games, but also to illuminate one of the adjacent basketball courts in the near future, Bybee said.
“This is something adults and kids can use,” Bybee said. “I think if we light it, there will be more kids using that.”
Rochlen said his organization recently helped install a mini pitch in Bastrop.
“It has just been a massive success,” Rochlen said. “They are so excited we came to them with this idea.”
