Soccer, engaging over 4 billion fans yearly, is admired, watched, and played by millions of people from all corners of the globe. Growing especially in the U.S., many people at Rio Norte play and watch the beautiful game. Whether it is the local clubs, such as Legends, LAFC, or AYSO, many are very familiar with the purpose and idea of the sport.
Within the numerous clubs at Rio Norte, the only sport having one is soccer. With 15 members and plenty of fans around the school, there should be no reason to not have a tournament, either sometime throughout the school year or against other schools like Rio Norte does with basketball, track and field, and cross country. P.E. should also try to include more soccer yearly with each grade, instead of silly games such as ping pong, koosh ball, or bean bag toss, do soccer. As we all know soccer is only part of the 7th grade units, if the teachers were to include this in both grades then it would make P.E. more enjoyable and exciting for more people. According to the Soccer Club President of Rio Norte, “I think the school should include more soccer, the rain did affect our soccer unit this year so we barely even played.”
For any more soccer to happen, there needs to be sacrifices and changes. According to Mr. Buerlson, a P.E. teacher here at Rio, “We wouldn’t be able to have a soccer tournament unless we did it in two weeks at the beginning or end of the year. If that didn’t work it would end up canceling one of the dodgeball, volleyball, or basketball tournaments. People would need to donate or start a fundraiser to have money for shirts and soccer nets too.” Although it would be difficult, Rio Norte should try to make an effort and invest in what kids at Rio want most.
As soccer grows around the school, future Rio Norte students should learn and play the game. Our P.E. teachers should make the sport more accessible and fun. With a bag of twelve balls being used four to five times a year, many students are missing out on the memories and love for the game. Numerous students at Rio don’t even play a sport, and by doing this, they might find out they want to join a team or play more with friends.