[05/29/02]Bob Kennedy has been coaching soccer in Vicksburg for 25 years and now he’s started a new challenge: bringing the sport to the Kings Community.

Kennedy, along with youth program coordinator Will Davis and former players Hunt Boa and Greg Davenport, have been working with 10-14-year-olds at Kings teaching Futsal, a form of indoor soccer.

About 16 players show up each Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. for clinics in soccer basics. The last 45 minutes is focused on playing pick-up games.

“It’s fun,” said 12-year-old Benwau Caples, one of several youngsters at the clinic that have played soccer before. “It’s a good chance for us to do something different.”

The ultimate goal of the clinics is to get kids who don’t have soccer backgrounds to learn the game and take it to either league play or to the high schools, Kennedy said.

“The real goal is to provide these kids with an opportunity and engage this part of the community,” Kennedy said. “It’s healthy in terms of a social activity, but physically as well.”

Boa, who played for Kennedy, now lives in Anguilla and drives down to Vicksburg on Tuesday’s to teach Futsal. He’s trying to use the Vicksburg program as a springboard to bring Futsal to small communities in the Delta.

“These would be small communities where I’m sure there are not a lot of opportunities for outside athletic activities,” Kennedy said. “We’ll see how it grows.”

Futsal is played similar to soccer, but indoors, Kennedy said. It is the only FIFA-sponsored indoor soccer game and it has its own World Cup.

The United States Futsal Federation oversees state federations, including Mississippi Futsal, which is still in its infancy.

“It involves the same skills and many feel like it is good training for soccer,” said Kennedy, who was instrumental in a Futsal league that started playing at Warren Central last year.

Kennedy saw an opportunity at Kings because, “it’s a game you can bring to any community.”

Unlike some other sports, the only requirements are a ball and goals.

“It’s a great game to bring to a community not serviced by soccer,” said Kennedy, referring to the basketball-dominated Kings Community Center.

The players are also acclimating themselves to playing outdoor soccer by playing on a Sherman Avenue field close to North Washington Street.

The players from Kings have tutoring until 5:30 p.m., then play Futsal until 7. Kennedy said one of the biggest challenges was getting the players used to not being able to use their hands.

“As soon as I put balls out there, they picked them up and tried to shoot baskets,” Kennedy said. “That was the first big hurdle to clear.”

Davis said it is important to show the kids they are cared about, and having another opportunity is a positive move.

“We’re trying to teach them leadership skills through soccer and how to deal with others,” Davis said. “They have come a long, long way from when we started.”