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Light Drizzle Fog/Mist Two mini soccer fields destined for Barrett Park
The Valley Stream Soccer Club was awarded a $70,000 grant to fund the installation of two miniature soccer fields at Barrett Park last month, which members of the organization hope will mitigate the ongoing difficulties of reserving field space.
“This is the first step, hopefully, for many big things to come,” said VSSC President Timmy Graham.
The club has nearly doubled in size over the past five years, he said. The organization has only three locations in Valley Stream to choose from during their spring and fall seasons: Arlington Park and Barrett Park in the spring, with Firemen’s Field added during the fall. That means the soccer club often has trouble securing a place to play. This season, one of the club’s teams had to forfeit a Long Island Cup game because they didn’t have field space.
The Barrett Park project is being sponsored by the New York Red Bulls and the United States Soccer Foundation, and Graham said he hopes that it will help show the community that the VSSC needs its own regulation-size soccer field in Valley Stream.
“We’d love for the schools and the village to help out if they’re financially able,” he said. “There’s a lot of towns that surround us, in poorer neighborhoods and richer neighborhoods, that have these fields,” Graham said, adding that the cost is about $800,000.
For the soccer club, scheduling routine training and practice sessions in the village has become increasingly difficult. Graham called the process a “logistical nightmare,” and said that parents and members of the club get frustrated.
“No one’s ever happy,” he said. “We try to do it the best that we can, the fairest way.”
Dave Jervis, New York Red Bulls senior director of training programs, echoed Graham’s belief that the miniature soccer fields would be helpful for the club as it continues to grow.
“Since partnering with Red Bulls Training Programs, the Valley Stream Soccer Club has significantly grown from 300 to over 1,200 players,” Jervis said in a statement. “Valley Stream became the perfect location for RBTP to supply much-needed infrastructure and support to allow their families access to quality facilities that would lead to improved player development and enjoyment of the beautiful game. We look forward to growing with the Valley Stream soccer community for years to come.”
The two miniature fields — made of a porous surface similar to a tennis court — will be installed at Barrett Park in August, in place of two existing basketball courts. The village will purchase two portable basketball hoops and new light fixtures to ensure that basketball can still be played there. The surface is easier to maintain than grass. “If it rains, you squeegee off the surface and in a couple of hours it’s ready to play,” Graham said.
Graham said the smaller fields are called “futsal fields,” designed for a modified form of soccer played in a smaller area. They will be used for practice. The club still hopes to add a full field, but that prospect seems difficult to achieve because of the cost.
Each field will be 120-feet-by-60-feet, with a fence separating the two spaces, according to the Foundation, which will be managing the construction. The Valley Stream site was selected by the Foundation and NYRB together, according to a spokeswoman for the Foundation. The organizations sought municipalities that had youth soccer, a suitable space for such a project (or an under-utilized concrete and fenced play space), community interest in transforming space into a soccer-specific play space.
Graham said the fields would also benefit the club’s TOPSoccer program (The Outreach Program for Soccer), a program for young athletes with disabilities. The VSSC began participating in the program two years ago, Graham said, and it was incredibly well received from the first day it was implemented.
“It was the most moving day I’ve ever had,” said Graham, who added that parents were crying on the sidelines. “When you go there and you see their faces, it just gives you that extra burst of energy and you’re ready to go.”
Construction of the futsal fields is slated to begin in the next few weeks, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 1. Lighting fixtures and portable basketball hoops would be purchased at the village’s convenience.
