Photos: Kids in Rockville Centre get a kick out of this summer soccer clinic

More than 100 young soccer players hit the field at the Rockville Centre Athletics Complex on July 26 to participate in the annual “Kids Teaching Kids” free summer program sponsored by the RVC Soccer Club.

The soccer club started the local tradition more than four decades ago and has continued to provide young athletes, between the ages of four and eight, with a clinic to help teach them and improve their soccer skills.

Each year, during the last two weeks of July, high school students pitch in to help guide their younger counterparts, instructing them in the fundamentals of the sport.

Gavin Goodlad, 18, the former captain of the South Side Cyclones’ varsity soccer team who is now playing soccer for Endicott College, said he started with the program as a coach in the eighth grade, when he was handed the reins and, for the last two years, has been organizing the event with the help of the RVC Soccer Club. 

“I got involved because I wanted to give back to the community and help teach little kids about the sport,” Goodlad said. “I’ve been playing since I was three, so I know the developmental needs that go into playing soccer.”

Chris Anderson, an RVC Soccer Club board member, said that the event goes “full circle,” as many of the younger kids who have participated in years past, return as adolescents to help give back to the next generation of young soccer players in the same way.

“The best part of the program is that it provides kids with a chance to play and be coached by other kids,” Anderson said. “It’s all about having fun… and it’s a great opportunity for others to do something good for the community by giving back.”

“I remember going to this camp when I was a kid,” Chris Cosgrove, one of the boys’ soccer coaches, said. “So it’s kind of cool that I’m back here helping out.”

Maggie Colvin, a recent graduate of South Side High School and one of the girls’ soccer coaches, has been participating in the program for the last two years. She said her favorite part is working with all of the kids.

“They’re always smiling and so positive,” Colvin said. “That’s probably the most fun part.”

Rockville Centre parents said they were very impressed with the program, particularly those who were experiencing the “Kids Teaching Kids” initiative for the first time.

“The fact that these kids are out here teaching our children soccer is really unique,” Catalina E., a local parent, said. “Having that experience of playing soccer will help them see if it’s something that they would like to do later on.”

Cam Livingstone, a Rockville Centre resident whose father, Bob, was one of the original creators of the program in 1982, previously told the Herald how the program continues to serve as a testament to the effort of local youth in the community.

“Volunteerism is alive and well in our village because all of these people who are teaching these little children are volunteers from our high schools,” Livingstone said. “It’s just a wonderful place to live and raise a family, and this is one of the reasons people give back.”

Anderson said that the program always gets a great deal of support from the village and that the RVC Soccer Club hopes to continue the tradition for many more years to come.

To learn about the free “Kids Teaching Kids” clinic, the RVC Soccer Club and upcoming summer camp programs, go online to RVCSoccer.com or visit the Rockville Centre Soccer Club RVCSC Facebook page.