The Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department and the Soccer Club del Sol (SC del Sol) have formed a partnership to offer citywide youth soccer leagues to children ages five to 12. Beginning in the fall, SC del Sol will offer youth soccer leagues at seven parks throughout the city, Paradise Valley Park, 40th Street and Bell Road; Pecos Park, 48th Street and Pecos Road; Cesar Chavez Park, 35th Avenue and Baseline Road (spring only); Esteban Park, 32nd Street and Broadway Road (fall only); Desert West Park and Sports Complex, 67th Avenue and Encanto Boulevard; Cactus Park, 3801 W. Cactus Rd.; and Pierce Park, 44th Street and Thomas Road.

The leagues will cost $45 per season and will cover the cost of a jersey and socks, an instructional clinic, coaches and officials. There will be a spring and fall season. The leagues will last for 10 weeks, which covers two weeks of practice and eight weeks of games. Leagues will be offered in four different age groups for children ages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12. The leagues are designed to be an introduction to organized soccer and do not require any previous skill or experience.

Budget cuts implemented this spring included a cut to the field-based youth sports leagues operated by the Parks and Recreation Department, including soccer.

It was a struggle for the city to find solutions to the budget crunch and this was a particularly difficult cut to make.

“After information on the budget cuts were featured in the Arizona Republic, I received an unexpected phone call from Chris Diana, president of SC del Sol, offering to provide the same great program for the entire city at an affordable price. When Chris contacted me, I was overwhelmed at his willingness to help,” said Vice Mayor Peggy Neely.

“My daughter played recreational soccer 10 years ago for this same organization, then known as PV Extreme. That experience gave her the base skills to play at a highly competitive level and she now plays at the collegiate level for a Division 1 school. This program will be affordable and the most important benefit is that it will allow kids to pursue a healthy activity that also teaches them important life skills and potentially could lead to college and professional soccer. Hundreds of families rely on city recreational programs and this is an excellent partnership that will allow our youth to remain active playing the sports they enjoy, despite budget cuts. And another great benefit is that the service will be seamless.”

While the leagues will be organized and run by SC del Sol, the Parks and Recreation Department will contribute to the partnership by providing transitional support and fields. The department also will provide links from its Web site to the club’s Web site.

“SC del Sol is very excited to be working with the city to insure that more kids continue to play soccer in Phoenix,” said Chris Diana, president of SC del Sol. “We are fortunate to be able to help the city and young soccer players. We are able to provide this program in a great part through our partnership with the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau that helps the club generate funds during our Presidents’ Day Tournament. We also will be looking to other Valley businesses to partner in this program.”

Since this partnership was formed, many other organizations have come forward expressing interest in working with the city to find ways to continue to offer other youth sports affected by the budget cuts. Parks staff is working with those groups and hopes to have more announcements in the near future.

For more information, contact the District 2 office at 602-262-7445 or SC del Sol President Chris Diana at 602-569-2402.