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In November 1984, four volunteers (Greg Fennell, Pete Christo, Jan Foy and Gary Foy) sat
down to discuss the possibilities of a league for four and five year old boys and girls.
It was decided to try it for a season in 1985. The caption that the Expositor put on our
press release in January 1985 was "Little People Get Chance To Play Soccer". From
this came the part of our logo "Soccer For Little People".
In the beginning in order to help our league get started it was necessary to approach some
other groups to assist in our first few years' set up costs. If it had not been for Court
Brant Foresters and Bisons Alumni we might never have gotten this league off the kitchen
table. We appreciate both organizations' help immensely and can not say enough good
things about either group. They are both groups whose interest and aid for their
community knows no bounds.
Our first season (1985) we registered 120 boys and girls and had two divisions of 6 teams
each. In our initial year there were only 25 girls registered (21%). The next two years
(1986-1987) we had 14 teams. During 1988 & 1989 we had registered enough players to
add a third division (18 teams). The following two years we registered 220 players
(20 teams).
Then came 1991, a year for a big decision! It was finally decided by the executive to
allow six year olds to register. The number of teams went from 20 in 1990 to 32 in 1991.
We now had a preschool division and a six year old division. In 1992 we lost 2 teams in
our six year old division but increased our preschool division by 2 teams. The following
year we were back to the same number of teams as in 1991. In 1994 our preschool division
was increased by four teams. We now had 4 preschool divisions of 6 teams each and 2 six
year old divisions of 6 teams each. Our 10th anniversary season was a milestone in which
we had tripled our size from 1985. The next 2 years (1995 & 1996) the league
increased in size to 42 teams.
In 1997 the league added one more field to ensure more players were were allowed to play.
The addition of 4 teams brought the total to 46 teams (506 players). The number of girls
registered was 194, a new high for the league (38%).
The league was faced with another obstacle in 1998. Too many players at registrations
resulted in a long waiting list. After some deliberation, the league decided to add 2
teams, bringing the total to 50 teams. Of the 550 players, 204 were girls. This meant
that there would have to be 5 preschool divisions and 3 six year old divisions.
In 2000 the league added 1 player per team to allow 50 more players to participate
in the summer program. This meant that there were 12 players on each team for a total of 600 players.
In 2001 the league added 2 more teams to bring the total to 52 teams, 624 players.
In 2003 the league added 4 more teams to bring the total to 56 teams, 672 players. This stayed
constant until 2007 when the leage was required to drop 2 preschool teams.
In 2009 the league included 7 year olds on a trial basis. This worked well with the new Junior Division
consiting of 6 and 7 year olds. This new division will be continued in 2010.
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