Synthetic leather, in the shape of a sphere, filled with air. An open space with a flat surface. It is those two things that can bring joy and happiness to many people of South Tucson.
The game of soccer is played worldwide, but soccer is more than just a game to South Tucson. It is part of the culture and valued highly by all ages.
In the United States, the number of high school soccer players has more than doubled since 1990 to more than 730,000 athletes, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Statistics from the SGMA show that this is the fastest growth rate among any major sport.
John Callie runs an intramural soccer league for children at the Learning Center in South Tucson. The league consists of four different teams made up from different children's programs. There is the Covert Learning School, which has a team from their day program and after school program. The other two teams originate from Project YES and the John Valenzuela Youth Center.
"The value of soccer is extremely important here and this league is absolutely necessary," Callie said.
The league is free and the season consists of about 10 games played. Soccer is just one of the five intramural sports that are offered for these children.
"Soccer by far gets the best turnout because the other sports require such a high skill level to be able to play," Callie said. "Soccer is simplistic, easy to engage in and is really for everyone no matter the age."
Callie decided to form the league to help give these children a positive social environment where they can laugh and have fun. The game of soccer to Callie isn't as competitive as other sports and the attitude is that anyone can come in and join. But soccer doesn't stop when the intramural games end.
"Every afternoon until night falls, high school kids and adults come out to the field and just play pick up games for hours," Callie said. "Even the little kids come back after their games and play with the adults."
Oscar Cesena has been volunteering at the Youth Center for the past 14 years and coaches its intramural soccer team.
"When these kids play, they get all pumped up," Cesena said. "This sport really teaches the kids sportsmanship, communication and how to work as a team."
Cesena said that you don't really have to be coordinated to play soccer and anyone can just run around and kick a ball.
"When it comes to soccer, that's when I get the most kids wanting to participate," he said. "The numbers in participation are increasing with kids of all ages wanting to play."
This might be true at the Youth Center, but not for Callie's intramural league. After about eight years of involvement, the league has been unable to grow due to budget cuts.
"I feel if we had the money, this soccer league would continue to grow and expand, but this limitation is standing in the way," Callie said.
On the positive side, this league is providing the basic foundation of soccer for these children.
"A lot of kids that started this league at age six have gone to play soccer in high school," he said.
Tucson has even become home to their first semi-pro soccer team, FC Tucson. The team chose Tucson over Phoenix due to the absence of sport teams and a culture that breed's success for soccer.
FC Tucson will host the 2012 Desert Cup played at the Kino Sports Complex from Feb. 22 through March 3.
