“It's very interesting to see the demographic changes in Northern Kentucky,” said Northern Kentucky Street Soccer Chairman Casey Grady. “I went to Dixie Heights High School…It’s totally different now.”
Specifically, Grady is talking about the region's burgeoning number of immigrants and the international community. But instead of running away from the changes, Grady decided to get involved and see what he could do to make life easier for newcomers.
how?
“I think soccer is a bridge to the international community,” Grady said.
However, it's a little more special than just playing a game. It's a way for people to come together to play games and a space that facilitates that. Grady said the culture surrounding soccer in the United States is very different than in other countries around the world. Many of the state's football programs feature a pay-per-play model, which can have the effect of blocking access for those without means.
In fact, despite the name Northern Kentucky Street Soccer, the game they focus on is not traditional soccer played on grass fields, but rather futsal. The rules of futsal are similar to soccer, but the game is unique in that it is played in small teams of five players on a hard surface. Grady said basketball and tennis courts can easily be converted into futsal courts, and futsal is a recreational sport in many other countries. Grady likens this to basketball games in the state, which often happen organically through groups of friends rather than through institutionalized sports programs.
“We try to promote a pickup culture in the same way we do pickup basketball,” Grady said. “That culture exists almost everywhere in the world…people play on futsal courts in their neighborhoods. Every school has a futsal court. It's the main thing they do in the gym and during recess.”
As such, Grady's ambitions for the program are not to get athletes, adult or child, involved in athletic programs at the professional or collegiate level, but rather to foster a culture of friendly competition and develop life skills.
“I don't care about my kid turning pro,” Grady said. “I just want kids to play and be kids.”
He points to a program called Sol of the Cities in Minneapolis as a model for what he wants to accomplish with Northern Kentucky street soccer, which not only hosts futsal games for groups of children, but also provides mentoring and community service. We also offer initiatives.
Sergio Gutierrez, owner of Ola Taqueria in Covington, and Alyssa Adkins, who works with Gutierrez, attended a public hearing on the city of Covington's federal grant earlier this month to support Northern Kentucky Street Soccer. It pitched itself as a program worthy of funding. Olla Tacqueria has sponsored Northern Kentucky His Street Soccer events in the past.
Adkins said the program's value lies in its ability to “foster a sense of community and social cohesion by providing a space for residents of all ages and backgrounds to come together.” “Last year, we had a tournament, and we had a lot of different teams in it. We had full teams from the United States, Jamaica, Brazil, Venezuela, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, all of whom live in Covington. There aren’t that many people you meet every day.”
The group has two main locations. One is at Kenny Shields Park in Covington, which is our primary location during the summer. The other is an indoor basketball court at Grace Church in Fort Wright.
“In many cases, if you want your kids to play, they have to join a very expensive club or go to a private school,” Gutierrez said. “It's an expensive sport, but the reality is you can go home and have a ball and a field, so that's all you need.”
With construction of the Brent Spence Bridge corridor on the horizon, it is unclear whether groups will be able to access Kenny Shields Park. Grady said a dedicated facility or building isn't necessarily needed, but he wants a pick-up space, such as a park or school, where he can definitely set up the game. Kenny Shields said the renovation of his current futsal court cost less than $1,000.
“We want to have more places for people to play, but right now there are zero futsal courts in Northern Kentucky,” Grady said.
He knows about FC Cincinnati's mini-pitch at Austinburg Park and across the river, but he wants to maintain its impromptu pickup nature while becoming more grassroots organized around the game. seems to be hoping for.
When he showed up in Fort Wright one morning, the kitchen staff at Fort Wright's restaurant, Walt's Hitching Post, came out after the morning rush and played with him during recess, an easygoing and accessible experience he wants to preserve. I explained this as an example of the environment. .
“That’s amazing,” he said. “When I saw that happen, I knew I had made their lives better for that day.”
For more information about Northern Kentucky Street Soccer, visit our website, Facebook page, or Instagram page.
“Come hang out with me,” Grady said.
