Spring is getting nearer: registration for spring youth sports is open.
Spring means soccer and volleyball seasons, two of Moab’s most popular sports. Soccer is open to kids in grades pre-K to 6th; volleyball to grades 3rd to 8th. Both sports are co-ed, and the seasons will run from late February to mid-April.
Patrick Trim, the city of Moab’s sports director, said the spring season draws up to 350 kids—usually 250 to 300 for soccer and 50 to 80 for volleyball. There’s no limit to how many kids can sign up to play; the only limiting factor is how many adults volunteer to coach.
Coaches aren’t required to have soccer experience—the recreation department at the city offers training resources to help anyone learn how to coach.
Trim has been sports director for seven years. In that time, he said, he’s tried to focus the sports programs on enjoyment, rather than competition.
“We place a higher emphasis on the enjoyment and the learning of the sport,” he said. “Competitive natures are maintained to a degree, but certainly there’s been a philosophy to shift in focus.”
The soccer program is divided up into five age groups: Pee Wee (pre-K and kindergarten), Micro (first grade), Bantam (second grade), Junior (third through fourth grade), and Striker (fifth through sixth grade).
Once kids reach the Junior and Striker age, they’ll be assessed for skill level so each soccer team is evenly matched. All soccer games take place at the Center Street Ballparks, and there are enough teams in the programs that teams will just play each other.
The volleyball program used to be a private league, and was taken over by the city about a decade ago when it got too popular for the league to handle, Trim said. The volleyball program divides teams up by grade levels. Unlike soccer, volleyball teams will play travel tournament style, meaning they’ll play teams from Blanding, Monticello and Green River—last year, the teams played a tournament against teams from Colorado as well.
“I’m excited to move back outdoors,” Trim said. “And I’m just excited to see all the participants back on the field, especially after some of these altered and canceled programs we’ve had the last few years, and to interact with the community and get everyone out there playing again.”
Registration is available at www.moabsports.activityreg.com. Volleyball costs $45 to register, plus $30 for a new uniform if needed. Soccer costs $35, plus $10 for a jersey, for pre-K to fourth grade; or $50, with the uniform included, for fifth through sixth grade.
