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Encouraging trend: Rec soccer, baseball numbers back upA tangle of players surrounds the ball during a Wilson Parks and Recreation Department youth soccer match April 6, 2019, at Gillette Soccer Complex. After two years of reduced participation numbers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers are on the rise again. Paul Durham | TimesBy Paul Durhampaul@wilsontimes.com ( 252-265-7808Two years ago, just before COVID-19 became a household word and the world went into shutdown mode, the Wilson Parks and Recreation Department was looking at one of its biggest turnouts in terms of participation for its youth soccer program.There were more than 1,000 kids signed up for the spring 2020 Rec soccer season when the COVID dominoes started to fall, ending the season before it really began. Wilson City Little League, coming off its best season in terms of participation in 2019, didn’t even complete signups in March 2020 before the shutdown began.Now, after two years of greatly reduced participation numbers, both the youth soccer and Little League programs, along with youth softball, are attracting bigger numbers again.“I’m very encouraged, excited that people are starting to feel comfortable to get out and participate in our youth programs because they needto,” said Wilson Parks and Rec athletics supervisor Jordan Phillips, who oversees the youth soccer program. “The kids need an outlet and they need to be on teams so they can learn and be a part of the team. But it’s very encouraging that our numbers are continuing to rise, postshutdowns.”Phillips said that 885 exactly were signed up for youth soccer, from ages3-15 as well as the 2-year-olds in the Start Smart Soccer program. Most of that 885, he said, comes from ages 3-8 with more than 600 children in that range.Last fall, 652 kids participated in Rec soccer while 700 played in the spring of 2021. Phillips said that 91 teams will play this spring, compared to 71 in 2021.With opening day for youth soccer set for March26, Phillips said he had to cut off registration because supply-chain issues meant uniforms had to be ordered earlier than in the past. Phillips pointed out that Lee Motor Company, which has been a major sponsor of Wilson Parks and Recreation youth soccer for more than two decades, will once again provide uniforms for all youth soccer players.Numbers for Wilson City Little League mirror those for youth soccer, said Parks and Rec athletic coordinator Troy Bla-ser. With Tuesday, March 8, as the final day to sign up for the WCLL Major League teams (ages 9-12), Blaser said there are “350 and counting” who have registered from tee-ball to Majors. Younger players still have the rest of the week to sign up for the lower leagues.“Oh, I think it’s trending up, especially with the younger ages,” said Blaser, who pointed out that older kids were playing travel baseball during the shutdown. “There were other options out there, you know, while we were shutSee REC, 3B
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Wilson Times
Wilson, North Carolina, US
Fri, Mar 11, 2022
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NC, USA 26 Jan 2024
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