Courtesy: Willits News


Willits futsal league begins Saturday

By Ashley Tressel

05/01/17

An official futsal league begins Saturday, Jan. 7 in Willits, offering 10 weeks of an indoor, modified form of soccer. It costs $39 per player and runs from January through March.

Coaches Martin and Saprina Rodriguez have been offering an indoor program for years under Willits Youth Soccer (WYS), but this is the first year the league will be under U.S. Futsal, the national futsal organization affiliated with U.S. Soccer. Saprina Rodriguez, WYS board president, Imagination Station Preschool director and city council member, said she’s passionate about the sport and that soccer helps children build self-esteem and become team players.

“For me, it’s about more than just the sport,” she said.

Rodriguez began playing soccer at age eight in Olympia, Washington, where she grew up. She played competitively until age 15, when she moved to Willits. Since the high school didn’t have a girls soccer team, she had to give up competing. At 19, she started coaching the youth league, and at 20, she joined the board. Now president, she and her husband have been involved with Willits Youth Soccer for 25 years. They run programs year-round, including a week-long summer camp during which they host players in their home. They enroll about 300 players every fall for the outdoor league and they also give scholarships for children who need help covering program costs.

“We’ve never turned anybody away,” said Rodriguez.

As a volunteer-based group, WYS was able to significantly cut the cost of futsal league enrollment to make it more affordable; their $39 fee is a fraction of the cost of the Ukiah league’s fee ($125).

Futsal sessions will be held at the Baechtel Grove Middle School gym every Saturday from Jan. 7 to Mar. 11, at various times set by age group.

Rodriguez is starting a fundraiser to paint the inside of the middle school’s gym and to repair damaged sheet rock on the walls, approved by Willits Unified School District Superintendent Mark Wetserburg. The project will cost about $5,000, according to Rodriguez. She said she’ll donate $1,000 toward that cost.

“I want to encourage school and community pride,” she said.

Plans include painting a large cougar with the words “Cougar Pride” on the inside and outside of the gym.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com