The program has been going strong since 1977.
In 40 years, a lot can change. When it comes to Plant City’s youth soccer scene, Jack Holland knows that better than just about anybody.
Holland, the Plant City Recreation and Parks Department director, celebrated the 40th anniversary of the soccer program’s existence as one of only two men who have been involved the entire time. He and longtime referee Sam Singletary spent this historic season working the older players’ games each week, just as they used to do before Holland moved to an administrative role.
“The feeling I get out of it now, more than ever, is when I see kids who played 10, 15, 20 years ago coming back and bringing their children out to play,” Holland says. “You know that you made an impact on that player when they want to come back.”
“ROWDY” BEGINNINGS
Without the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the league wouldn’t have been created when it was.
The Rowdies were formed in Tampa in 1974 and won the North American Soccer League championship in 1975. Naturally, that piqued the interest of young boys and girls in the Tampa Bay area who wanted to try the sport — something that also reached out to the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.
In 1977, the Rowdies joined forces with what was then the Plant City Recreation Department to get the ball rolling. That year, 170 local players took to the fields at Mike Sansone Park, playing over what are now the basketball and sand volleyball courts and the skate park.
The Otis M. Andrews Sports Complex became the league’s primary home upon its completion in 1983. In 1982, while waiting for the construction to be finished, the league played its games at nearby Marshall Middle School.
“The growth of the sport nationwide has been phenomenal. Seeing kids come back year after year, we ask how many have played in the past. I’d say 80% or more put their hands up. To me, that’s a strong indicator that we’re doing the right thing.”
— Jack Holland, Recreation and Parks director
The Optimist Club immediately came into play, providing funding the league needed to get off the ground. Its name was attached to the league, and it started hosting the annual Tri-Star Soccer Skills Competition in 1997.
Holland and Singletary both served as referees in 1977, but Holland’s duties with the City of Plant City eventually moved him into an administrative role. Singletary has been an official for all 40 years.
GROWTH
In the late 1970s, when Plant City’s league was formed, there were 170 youths signed up in the area and almost 800,000 total within the United States Youth Soccer Association umbrella.
These days, the numbers dwarf the 1970s figures. The city reported 1,250 sign-ups for this season, and the USYSA national figure hovers at around 3 million registrations.
“The growth of the sport nationwide has been phenomenal,” Holland says. “Seeing kids come back year after year, we ask how many have played in the past. I’d say 80% or more put their hands up. To me, that’s a strong indicator that we’re doing the right thing.”
The only exceptions came in the years following the Great Recession of 2008. The economic downturn shrunk the number as low as 1,150 players in 2011, following the city’s peak of 1,600 players. For the years 2008 through 2013, the USYSA saw an 11% dip in participation, going from 3,148,114 registered players in 2008 to 2,804,711 in 2013, with a steady decline each year.
In 2014, the most recent year available on the USYSA website, the organization reported 3,055,148 players — its first increase since 2008.
With the economy getting stronger and soccer being as popular as ever, Holland and the city are expecting the local program to get stronger — hopefully, back to that 1,600-player mark sooner than later. But, no matter how many players come through the program, Holland says that its main goal is to ensure that Plant City kids have a fun, safe place to play and grow.
“I’ve had kids come to me and say, if not for programs like this, they would not have become the people they are today,” Holland says.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
