North Bay’s high school soccer clubs received a big boost this past Thursday, as members of North Bay Youth Soccer presented four schools – Algonquin, Chippewa, West Ferris, and Scollard Hall —with cheques for $5,000 each.
Recently, North Bay Youth Soccer, “made the very difficult decision” to halt the program, noted Paul Cook, of the organization. North Bay Youth Soccer has been organizing league play for over 50 years in the community. However, Cook explained that recently another local soccer organization had started up, and North Bay Youth Soccer decided to halt operations.
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However, Cook explained that the organization still had some money in the bank they had raised from fundraising, and the group felt it would be well-used amongst the local high school teams. “We’ve always had a strong tie to NDA soccer,” Cook added, referring to Nipissing District Athletics.
“This was a fitting way to give back to these four soccer programs,” Cook said.
The cheques were presented outside the front entrance of West Ferris Secondary School
Travis Culham, who coaches West Ferris’ soccer team, noted the donation was unexpected and much welcomed by all of the schools. “We see it a lot where the costs of sports are going up, just like everything else, and this kind of financial support really makes a difference.”
Indeed, teams incur costs for travel, for referees, and for registering in tournaments. The financial boost from North Bay Youth Soccer will make a real difference, Culham emphasized.
Rachelle Roy, who coaches the girl’s team at École secondaire catholique Algonquin , mentioned “it will help more girls to participate” and allows the team to hit the pitch more often. “Everything is very costly these days,” Roy continued, “and this donation helps a great deal.”
Sara Pickles, who coaches the Chippewa Secondary School team – reingning league champions – couldn’t agree more. “It’s great to have community support for our soccer programs.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
