Takoma Park ushers in new youth soccer league

Takoma Park is set to welcome a new city-run youth soccer league in the spring, phasing out the city’s long-running youth recreational league, Takoma Soccer.

The new youth soccer league reached the final planning stage after unanimously passing the second reading by the city council on Oct. 14. With a program budget of nearly $170,000 for next fiscal year, the new program would assume the role of Takoma Soccer, which is set to conclude operations at the end of this season.

“I think it is a good decision. It had to happen sooner or later,” said Howard Kohn, a commissioner for Takoma Soccer who joined the program as a parent in 1990. “We needed to establish a stable structure going forward.”

While structurally, the programs will remain similar, maintaining its staff of volunteer coaches as well as the same fields and teams, one change that has brought some concern from community members is the increase in registration fees. With the new city-run league, registration fees would go from $50 per player per season to $60 for residents and $75 for non-residents.

As of now, a large portion of the program’s participants are not residents of Takoma Park. The city’s recreation department estimated the number of non-city residents is about two-thirds of participants, according to an October article in Source of the Spring.

Kohn said that while he understands the fee increase is concerning, he still sees it as “a bargain by comparison” to local competitor leagues like Montgomery Soccer Inc. or Soccer Association of Columbia, which both have fees starting above $100.

“It’s a lot that’s the same,” said Gregory Clark, director of recreation for Takoma Park. “We want to continue the tradition of what Takoma Soccer was and implement that into our program.”

With the new league, the department is planning to introduce paid staff to assist with the program’s management. These include one full-time year-round employee responsible for its administration and seasonal part-time staff.

Jessica Neff, a Silver Spring parent, said that with the new league management, she worries the new fee could mean fewer signups. However, Neff said she also thinks that it could make more players prioritize the league.

“There seem to be some players that play in multiple leagues, and it would be nice if there was more turnout to this,” said Neff. “I think it could prioritize players to turn out but it could also dissuade some people.”

Multiple parents said that a common downside to the league’s friendly rather than competitive nature was inconsistent participation. Benita King, who has been a volunteer coach for Takoma Soccer for 18 years, said that she often has one or two players who are on the roster but have never shown up.

With the fee increases, King agrees that it could cause more consistent participation. But King also said that with increased fees come increased expectations, like consistent referees and field maintenance.

“They have to take into account that when they do increase that there’s a level of expectation,” said King.

The department has already tried to take many concerns into account, including a plan to introduce scholarships for registration fees, both for residents and non-residents.

Clark said that the city’s recreation department also has taken steps to better the league’s consistency, from working with officiating associations for regular referees to collaborating with Montgomery Parks for field maintenance plans.

Frances Walters, a parent to two Takoma Soccer players, said that the lower registration fee really helped with the league’s accessibility and environment, but added that the scholarships may help.

However, with the new city-run league, Walters said her main hope is that those aspects of accessibility remain, even with the new changes.

“I hope that the same environment remains, where it’s very open and welcoming to kids of all ages and abilities,” said Walters.

Many parents and volunteers expressed the same hope: that the community feeling that drew them to Takoma Soccer would persist. Kohn and Clark said that it is a goal that has been central to the transition, and what they assure will stay the same.

“That’s the plan. To retain the ethos that we’ve created and sustained for all these years,” said Kohn.

Registration for the spring season will start in January/February. Those interested can find more information on Takoma Park’s recreation department page.

For more information or to volunteer for the soccer league, community members can contact John Webster at tpsports@takomaparkmd.gov.