Micro soccer in full swing in the county
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
At least 165 youth from pre-kindergarten through 6th grade throughout Marion County are involved in the MC United Soccer Club.
A total of 28 teams from Centre, Marion, Peabody-Burns, and Hillsboro school districts are represented.
Stephanie Moss of Hillsboro was the driving force behind organization of the soccer club in the spring of 2003. It began with 18 members and experienced an explosion of growth in just a few years.
There are five to seven players on a team, and three are on the field at any given time; hence the term micro soccer.
Coaches are volunteers. Certified referees also are volunteers and can be coaches or parents.
Moss is pleased that four young people gave up two weekends to take training and become licensed referees. She said their main job is to keep the field safe.
Games are played on six consecutive Saturdays in fall and again in spring. They are rotated between Marion and Hillsboro and played on three small marked fields at each elementary school.
Kim Shields of Lincolnville has coached micro soccer for several years. She prefers micro soccer as a sport for young children. She said they learn how to use their bodies and they learn analytical thinking. They always are on the ball and don't stand around. There are no goalies, so everyone has a chance to score.
"It's very educational," she said.
Moss especially likes micro soccer because it requires every player to play.
"It fits our smaller town environment," she said.
MC United now is affiliated with the Kansas Youth Soccer Association.
