New local nonprofit foundation aiming to develop indoor soccer facility in Strathmore

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Parkins Performance Football Foundation will be unveiling their plans to raise money for a new indoor athletic facility in Strathmore, Aug. 17 at the Civic Centre.

According to Ryan Parkins, director of operations for the society, the primary goal of the facility will be to help overcome barriers with regards to access to play for athletes.

The primary focus will be for soccer, but the facility will ultimately be willing to work with any sort of athletic activity upon completion. 

“We have four primary pillars we are trying to tackle. One of them is access to facilities, so one of our goals is to build a new facility which we will be unveiling our proposal for at the event,” said Parkins.

“The other one is access to equipment, so we do not want not having equipment to bar someone from being able to play.”

As part of the Aug. 17 launch event, those planning to be in attendance are invited to bring out gently used sporting equipment and participate in a sport swap.

This activity, Parkins explained, leads into the third pillar of the organization, being to help eliminate some of the financial barriers associated with access to sports.

“Beyond that, we are also going to be offering some sport-specific skills training¬ – so soccer training, and that is how essentially the nonprofit foundation will generate revenue to help perpetuate some of its initiatives until such time as we are able to build the facility and become stewards of it,” said Parkins. “I have been involved with the soccer program here for well over a decade and we as a group have really identified the need for additional play space, particularly indoors over that winter season.”

He explained during the winter months, there is not enough play space to facilitate Strathmore’s growing soccer community, nor what the Soccer Association aims to achieve for local athletes in future years. 

“We do not have the same type of facilities that our neighbours and regional partners may have access to in the city, so we are playing against those teams who are training on a different type of turf that is a little less hard on the knees,” said Parkins. “We play games in cleats, but we practise in flats, so this would give an opportunity to have a lower impact, higher grade turf material and it would level the playing field for our players to be able to train on a more similar pitch type to develop their skills.”

The event at the Civic Centre will run from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Aug. 17. More information about the foundation and their facility project is available online (www.ppff.ca).