Free Soccer Clinic In Wayne County

Our mission church in Wayne, West Virginia will be having a "Mission Blitz" this coming week. The Southern Baptist Church at Wayne will be hosting several community activities designed to identify potential prospects for the mission. They are seeking to find, reach, and disciple unchurched individuals and families in the Wayne area. A team of approximately 15 brothers and sisters from two churches in the Augusta, GA area are coming to help with these outreach activities. Besides the door to door canvassing they will be doing, the group will also be having Back Yard Bible Clubs and an Outdoor Crusade.

One of the outreach activities that Church Planter Darrell Clark has planned is a free Soccer Clinic for children in grades one through five. The two hour clinic will begin at 2:00 PM on Friday, June 20th at the Huntington Police Farm. The Police Farm is located on State Route 152 just south of Lavalette and north of Wayne, WV. This event promises to be a first class event for the kids.

The clinic will be led by Peter Underwood (pictured at left). Coach Underwood is a former Marshall University Men's Soccer coach and brings years of experience to this event, along with a love for teaching the game to children. Underwood is presently the Executive Director of the Quantum Soccer Center in Hurricane, WV and he holds a UEFA Soccer Coaching License. This type of clinic is very popular, and can be a little pricey, but thanks to the generosity of Coach Underwood, there will be no charge for this particular session. It proves to be a great opportunity for the younger children to learn the basics and some of the finer points of the game that is quickly growing in popularity across the country. To participate, each child who attends must be accompanied by an adult for the two hour clinic - no "dropping off" of kids will be allowed - so adults are advised to bring a lawn chair and enjoy the afternoon.

Although registration will be allowed at the Police Farm on the day of the event, Pastor Clark urges possible participants to pre register if possible. Pre registration may be accomplished by contacting Darrell Clark at 304-634-5765. If any of our local readers have children, grandchildren, or neighbor kids who would like to learn more about soccer, from a professional coach, free of charge - this is the event for them. I certainly commend Darrell for putting this event together.

Speaking of Soccer, Westmoreland Baptist's Upward Soccer Spring League will have it's final games on Saturday, June 21st at Olympic Field Park in Huntington beginning at 10:00 AM. More than 70 children have been enrolled in this spring season. This initial season has been a wonderful success due to the hard work of Upward Soccer Commissioner, Jeff Lockhart, his wife, Tara, and many other dedicated volunteers. In Upward's sports ministry, every child plays, every child learns, and every child wins. An Award Celebration for the children will be held at Westmoreland Baptist Church on Monday, June 23rd at 6:00 PM. Our special guest on the program will be Todd Lovins - Christian Magician and evangelist. The kids will be treated to hot dogs, chips and soft drinks, and every child who participated in the league will receive a nice award that evening as they are recognized individually.

The Apostle Paul wrote in the Corinthian letter, "I have become all things to all men, that by all means I might save some." Sports ministry is a wonderful way to open doors to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who may not know Him. Since surveys show that 70 percent of West Virginians have no affiliation with any Bible believing, Bible teaching churches, the harvest truly is ripe. We intend to use Sports Ministry (and any other appropriate opportunities available) to open those doors for evangelism.