By JAY WILSON

The 54 Crusaders Soccer Club’s recreational division teams are now practicing every weekday on the large grass field at Gage Elementary School and as of Oct. 10, participating in team activities every Saturday.

When you drive by the grass field during the week, you will see several hundred colored cones designating the space for each player to ensure social distancing is maintained. This is in addition to the 300 competitive division soccer players practicing on the two fields at Pershing Middle School.

It is very gratifying to all of us to see the happy expressions on the faces of our nearly 600 recreational division players and listen to their comments about playing soccer and seeing their friends whom they have not seen in six months. The parents are pleased as well. They continually comment on how great it is that their child is outside, seeing friends, socializing with children their own age, and getting some much-needed exercise on a regular basis. Our recreational division is for children born between 2006 and 2016.

Our recreational division is successful because of our volunteer coaches and division coordinators. They have adapted very well to soccer, COVID-19 style. Everything a coach asks of their players requires the players to maintain a COVID-19 social distancing of six feet.

COVID-19 protocols require we take the temperature of each player. All guests are required to wear a mask and have their temperature taken.

For more information, visit www.crusaderssoccer.org.

— Jay Wilson writes on behalf of Crusaders Soccer Club.