If you are strolling around Talbot County on a Saturday, you are sure to see FC Tred Avon soccer players. They are hard to miss in their brightly colored shirts and with their enthusiastic chatter about how the match was, who won and can we get a snack? This league started in the Easton Family Y and now has over 700 players ranging in ages from 2-13. Easton matches are played on Saturdays from 9am-3pm behind Easton Middle School. FC Tred Avon expanded to our St. Michaels Family Y this year and has 67 players currently, ranging in ages from 2-11, with St. Michaels matches taking place on the Perry Cabin fields from 9-11:30am on Saturdays.
These players come with an entourage of parents, grandparents, family and friends. While the matches are for the players, Saturdays spent watching soccer are also an opportunity to renew friendships, relax from the busy week and just enjoy the people around you. With ages varying from 2-13 you can imagine the range of skills that are observed on the fields. From the littlest players who kick the ball around for a bit and run and get a hug from a favorite fan, to the oldest players who run up and down the field at full tilt using all the skills they have learned; these athletes do more than just play the game. The volunteer coaches nurture, teach and support using the YMCA values, so sportsmanship and compassion for fellow players is incorporated into each experience. FC Tred Avon encourages age eligible players to try out for the YMCA Middle School Soccer program which in turn feeds into our local high school soccer teams.
It does the heart good to see these players running around Target, the Farmers Markets or the occasional yard sale on a Saturday. They are happy to have played the match, maybe made a new friend or two and hopefully talked their entourage into having lunch or an ice cream on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
About the Y
The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits and the largest Human Service organization on the Eastern Shore of Maryland; strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Across the Shore Ys engage 40,000 members; men, women and children – regardless of age, income or background – to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the shore’s health and well-being, and provide opportunities to give back and support neighbors. In 2017, the YMCA of the Chesapeake provided over $1,500,000 in assistance to over 13,000 community members, turning no one away due to inability to pay. www.ymcachesapeake.org
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