Strathmore Soccer launches men’s league team
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Strathmore Soccer Association has announced the formation of their first men’s team, which will be participating in the 2024 Calgary United Soccer Association (CUSA) summer season.
“A few years ago, the Strathmore Minor Soccer Federation made the transition to Strathmore Soccer Association so we could be more inclusive of the community at large,” said Ryan Parkin, technical director of the Strathmore Soccer Association. “We wanted to provide soccer programming for all ages and start to develop a pathway right from grassroots – three-year-old players, all the way up to as old as we could play. Obviously, that takes some time to establish those frameworks.”
With the launch of the men’s team, Parkin added this will give players from the U17 and U19 categories a next step, should they choose to not go to college right away, or would like to have an avenue for playing soccer more casually and locally.
The Strathmore Soccer Association maintains a goal to eventually also launch a women’s team, though unfortunately does not currently have the administrative and management capabilities to support it, as the organization is almost entirely comprised of volunteer operators.
“In one of my other hats, I have been working with another team in Calgary that I manage on the men’s side. We had players from our community playing there last season just as we prepared the framework or the groundwork to give us a men’s team out here so we could have games at home,” said Parkin. “With all the elements in place, we are able to take that next step and bring some adult competition to this region.”
The season of play with CUSA will run from late April/early May until roughly mid-September. Scheduling is inexact as it will have to be flexible based on weather conditions.
League competition will be through a promotion-based system. Strathmore will start in a Tier 4 or Tier 5 bracket, effectively at the bottom of the ladder, and the team will have to work its way up from there.
The regular season will consist of between 14 and 18 games. Players who decide to join the team will be expected for practices once a week.
“The fee structure is all on the website … I know that it is fairly competitive in terms of pricing … it includes one game a week organized through CUSA, it also includes free access to our recreational drop in, which is our co-ed program in Strathmore,” said Parkin.
More information about the league including pricing is available online (strathmoresoccer.ca). For those who are potentially interested in participating in the men’s league, as of Feb. 1, Parkin said more than half the available slots on the team’s roster had been claimed.