Reimagine play spaces for more soccer games

The park component of the city of Fresno’s General Plan will be updated, yet the question remains, what brings people out to the parks? One thing that does so in numbers is soccer.

Yes, more soccer fields are a must, but there are alternatives that could be incorporated as short- and long-term solutions.

Because of the lack of quality grass areas on which to play, residents have taken soccer onto low-usage tennis/volleyball courts. Why not resurface these courts into a safer, softer surface (plastic or artificial turf) and put two soccer goals in them? These low-use courts can be converted into high-use, low-maintenance mini-soccer pitches.

Fresnans can practice the sport they enjoy by playing soccer in a five-on-five or seven-on-seven on form instead of the traditional 11-on-11 form.

An immediate solution to start meeting the high demand would be to open school gymnasiums for people to play futsal, a five-on-five form of soccer played on a space identical to a basketball court. The availability of these spaces would allow active players to practice and create the opening for more leagues that would get more youth active. For details, go to www.Facebook.com/FutsalFresnito.

This story was originally published July 11, 2015 at 6:19 AM with the headline "Reimagine play spaces for more soccer games."