First mini-pitch soccer field ready for play at city park

The first two mini-pitch soccer fields are ready for players at Terrace Park.

The small fields are designed with boundaries to help keep the ball in play. They were installed this summer north of the Terrace Park swimming pool on top of existing tennis courts that weren’t being used that much.

“We think it’s going to be a great place,” park development specialist Tory Miedema said. “You can do pickup games as well as organized activity. Basically, they’re like micro-soccer fields.”

That allows for smaller teams to play or individuals to do drills, he said.

“It’s just a nice little opportunity where you don’t have to go to a big field and get a whole bunch of people organized to play,” Miedema said. “The goals are smaller, so that brings the challenge to it. You’re not shooting into a huge net.”

Lighting is scheduled to be installed by the end of September. There also are plans midmonth for an official opening and potential shootout with Mayor Paul TenHaken, who championed the concept in his “State of the City” address earlier this year.

“This initiative is something near and dear to my heart,” said Frank Gurnick, director of soccer operations for Dakota Alliance Soccer Club, who estimates he has been working on the concept for about five years.

The recently created Sioux Falls Neighborhood Soccer League became the springboard for the project, he said. It’s bringing soccer to underserved elementary schools and has seen significant participation.

“We currently have city assets — primarily basketball and tennis courts — that are going unused and deteriorating,” Gurnick said. “My thought was to renovate these assets for use conducive to the needs of the community. Sioux Falls is a destination for newly relocated immigrants as well as a city growing and becoming more diverse. Soccer … is the perfect vehicle for connecting people of all walks of life. It can be a bridge to developing relationships that will strengthen community.”

The mini-pitch initiative allows soccer to grow organically and at a negligible cost, in contrast to the balloon costs of the youth sports landscape, he added.

Soccer continues to grow in the Sioux Falls area, Gurnick said. He estimates 4,400 players participate in Dakota Alliance programs.

“We’ve seen continued growth that seems to mirror the community’s growth,” Gurnick said. “Interest is high and growing.  The challenge will be to keep it affordable and not another cog in the ‘pay to play’ industry.”

The mini-pitches will promote safe, affordable fun that will have a positive impact on overall health, inclusivity, character development and community, he added.

“At a time when we are witnessing increasing mental and physical health issues, ranging from obesity and diabetes to anxiety and depression, proactive and innovative solutions must be sought after,” he said.

“At a time when we are witnessing an exodus from youth sports, we must seek out the root causes – enjoyment, affordability and access are the most obvious ones.”

The mini-pitches also will serve as neighborhood gathering places, helping to cultivate a sense of community, he added.

The vision is to add the mini-pitches in other parks.

“We have looked at a couple other locations,” Miedema said. “I’m guessing if they’re as popular as they have been around the nation, and how popular this one sounds, we’ll probably go to Pioneer (Park in northeast Sioux Falls), and we looked at a couple other tennis courts that aren’t getting used a lot.”

The city is working with Dakota Alliance to determine where its participation is from so the mini-pitches aren’t installed in neighborhoods where they’re less likely to be used.

Gurnick mentioned Emerson, Menlo, Meldrum, and Tomar parks as possible locations. The idea is that people can walk or ride their bikes to get there to play, he said.

“Sioux Falls is a fit city,” Gurnick said. “We love our trail and park system. My hope is that this is another form of fitness that will see an uptick in growth and participation.”