FRISCO, Texas (October 23, 2023) – This past weekend, the Tennessee State Soccer Association (TSSA) supported a workshop at the Tennessee Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance as part of the US Youth Soccer and US Soccer Foundation’s joint “Soccer for Success” initiative. Roughly 50 teachers and student-teachers were in attendance for the event.
TSSA provided more than 200 soccer balls to those on-site and promised an additional 200 for any teacher in need. This comes just months after US Youth Soccer delivered 900 balls to physical education teachers in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in a funding effort in conjunction with the Ohio Soccer Association.
Using funding from the US Soccer Federation’s Innovate to Grow grant, US Youth Soccer continues to work in collaboration with its State Associations and the US Soccer Foundation to provide physical education teachers from around the country with quality equipment and professional development workshops. A key component of this joint effort has been a shared goal of empowering teachers with knowledge and equipping them with the resources to include soccer as part of their school’s physical education program.
Since July, the Innovate to Grow Grant has helped create workshops for teachers in five states: Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. Workshops are also scheduled for California, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas over the next few months. These important training sessions take place as either a district-wide professional development day or are coupled with state-held physical education teacher conferences.
Additionally, multiple US Youth Soccer State Associations have provided teachers with pinnies, cones, and other materials in recent months. Coupled with US Youth Soccer purchasing thousands of soccer balls for schools, this support from its membership has been instrumental in ensuring physical education teachers include soccer in their curriculums.
US Youth Soccer is looking forward to conducting 35 more workshops over the next two years.
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