FCArmstrong

I’m revisiting this two years after my initial publication. I’m not seeing a change. I still see a situation where children are for profit in soccer clubs. I’m looking for ways to change the current status. We need to find more ways to make soccer for children.

Me- Dec 2025

Writers note- Phoebe has started writing in her mama dog tone lately. Please understand Phoebe sees the world through her nose.

Dad was pulled over to Charleroi this week and when he went over for coffee he saw the crane on the Washington County side of the Monongahela River working on lock & dam number 4. He drove over to see the progress and noticed new fencing around the big ballfield where he played years ago. He also noticed the lights on the softball field and a new batting cage. When he moved over to the park with the basketball court and deck hockey rink he noticed a vast display of turned over earth and no recreational space. If you proceed to Oakland or Crest Avenue playgrounds you will see that the recreational space is no longer functional. What happened to places for kids to play?

Is your community designed around humans or automobiles?

Do you take walks to the park and have green space to hike, bike, run, sniff?

When did you start playing an organized sport?

When did you start your children in an organized sport?

In the past year have you paid more for a vacation or one of your kid’s sports?

We have lived in a community designed around automobiles. We personally are not fans since the humans depart and return to their homes via their garages. Nobody walks in the front door or sits on the porch and says hello as we walk by for our poop walks. The mailman doesn’t leave cookies and we would only walk around safe circles because the speed limit was posted at 30MPH, but everybody went 40MPH. We began wearing our night time reflectors and blinkie lights back in Oak Creek. We appreciate lots of sidewalks, 15MPH speed limits and two dog parks. We would like a bigger back yard, but the walking for coffee is awesome. The design of our community is the difference between 2000 and 10000 steps per day.

Dad keeps complaining about seeing the same kids playing week in and week out. He keeps asking why do we start the organized league at 6 yrs. old. Why not just let them play and figure things out. That’s why he coached U8 that one spring.

US Soccer — if you want to win a World Cup, build futsal fields next to basketball courts in every major city and every town of over 5,000 people. Make it local, make it free.

Healthcare Companies and municipalities if you want healthy communities you don’t need much space or money.

Add resistance training to your community park by installing a Fitness Court. If it can be installed in Morgantown– it can work in East Brady, Kittanning, Monongahela, Braddock, Aspinwall, Charleroi, Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Columbus, Carolina Beach, Oak Creek, Bay View . . .We need to create a culture of health by reducing the barriers and engaging multiple generations.

https://www.nationalfitnesscampaign.com/contact

Make soccer free again. Make soccer local again. Western Pennsylvania has a history of teams winning the US OPEN CUP with our mining and steel towns. Let’s go back to just playing and learning and moving and having fun. No parents or coaches using their vocal joysticks to confuse the kids. LET THE GAME BE THE TEACHER. Turn two Tennis Courts into two futsal courts and 6 pickleball courts. Update the lights to LED so they can be used all summer long and when not icy in the winter. Raleigh is on board and looking into the conversion. Atlanta already has courts under MARTA at Five Points Station.

These same courts can be used for a version of the game called “walking soccer” for seniors.

Make it local.

Make it multigenerational.

Create a culture of movement.

Move more, eat better, get outside daily.