Lee's 4v4 Youth Soccer League
Photo by Sam Anderson
Paul Furey, head coach of the Lee Flames soccer team, began the 4v4 Youth Soccer League 11 years ago with aspirations of creating a unique way for his soccer team to connect with their hometown by inviting children, ages 5-12, to be coached and to enjoy the game of soccer with him and his players.
By using a 4v4 style, instead of the normal 11v11 soccer style, each player has more opportunities for touches, allowing the focus to be more equally distributed. The program also accounts for kids coming in at different experience levels by placing the kids on teams based on age, as well as how advanced they are as players.
The program was already in place while Furey was coaching at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio. However, when he moved to Tennessee, and took the position of head coach of the Flames, Furey brought with him the 4v4 Youth Soccer League.
'It worked really well in Ohio, and it has taken off fantastically here in Cleveland and Bradley County,' Furey said. 'We have really grown from the first year in 2011 to the present year in 2016.'
The league goes for six to eight weeks each spring, and has averaged around 250 kids per year for the past three years. There is a fee for each player, but there are several scholarship programs that ensure kids who need financial assistance to play get the help they need.
Neither the players nor coaches are paid for their participation in 4v4. All of the money goes into fundraising accounts for special events and projects done within Lee's soccer program.
Furey said the Flames players have done an excellent job balancing making the experience fun for the kids, while simultaneously teaching them to play soccer.
'I brag about our guys; they do a great job of getting to know the youth, ages 5-12 , both boys and girls, and taking an interest in them and befriending them,' Furey said. 'The program is very organized and very structured ' It's the players that give a personal touch to it.'
Many of the Flames plan to coach soccer following their collegiate career, and for some, the 4v4 program gave them their first experience coaching.
Ryan Swartzentruber was a freshman player for Furey in Ohio the year prior to Furey's move to Lee. He said he saw the good in the 4v4 program, and was determined not to let it die out while he was at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, even though Furey was no longer there.
In his junior and senior year at Nazarene University, Swartzentruber ran the 4v4 program, and has since moved to Tennessee, where he is currently an assistant coach for the Flames soccer team. He said the kids in 4v4 sometimes build close relationships with their player coach, and that gives the players a great service opportunity by reaching out to these children.
'A lot of kids will become really close with one or two coaches and will request them,' Swartzentruber said. 'We try to honor those as much as we can. These kids, they fall in love with these guys.'
The player coaches are required to practice with their teams on Tuesdays, and be there to coach their teams for the games on Saturdays.
'Obviously the workload is a lot for us, but it really is enjoyable ' Not only for the kids, but also for us,' junior Flames Quade Marinell said.
Furey said the 4v4 helps him install important characteristics into his players by showing them that they should not take their athletic abilities and opportunities for granted.
"My primary job is being responsible for the 24 young men on my roster and not only helping them be the very best soccer team that they can be ' but also in their development as young men. They have been blessed and given a very special gift," Furey said. 'We have to recognize that we have a responsibility to give back.'
