Youth soccer remains one of the highest participating sports among youth in the U.S. Since 2000, annual participation across the country has held steady with around 3 million youth boys and girls, while other youth sports have been on a decline.
On May 18-20, people in the North Carolina High Country will get a taste of “the beautiful game’s” popularity as 74 teams coming from 6 different states will make their way to the annual soccer tournament King of the Mountain, hosted by Boone-based High Country Soccer Association (HCSA). The tournament, which began in 2009 with 13 teams, will be spread across fields at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex (TMSC; home of Appalachian State Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Watauga County’s Parks and Recreation and HCSA), Watauga High School, and Lees McCrae in Banner Elk. In addition to the HCSA staff, it takes about 50 volunteers to run the King of the Mountain Soccer Tournament.
“King of the Mountain is a great way for soccer clubs and teams to end their spring season,” says Rick Suyao, Executive Director of High Country Soccer Association. “There is great competition against teams you normally don’t play against during the regular league season. In May, the weather is usually more comfortable and cooler than off the mountain and in addition to soccer, visitors can see and do all the neat things our area offers as a tourist destination.”
In an independent study done by Appalachian State University’s Department of Economics, HCSA’s two summer tournaments, King of the Mountain in May and the Appalachian Classic in August, together generate a total boost of around $955,000 to the local economy.
“A lot of people only know of HCSA as a soccer club that serves the local youth, but when we host these tournaments, we also bring more than 5,500 out-of-town visitors,” says Suyao. “The great thing about youth travel soccer is it’s usually a family affair, so the whole family of each player usually comes together and makes a mini-vacation of it on tournament weekends. In addition to the tournaments, regular league games in Boone during the spring and fall soccer seasons will bring more than 10,000 soccer visitors annually from the visiting teams. We haven’t done an economic impact study yet for the entire year.”
High Country Soccer Association, which opened in 1986, offers soccer training to youth ranging from U6 to U18 and competes in the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association. HCSA also operates winter futsal youth training and the local adult leagues. In all, HCSA has more than 600 youth players and more than 300 adult players from five different counties.
“Back in January, when the Boone Chamber presented an independent study of sports tourism done by DSA Sports LLC, we were excited to hear their analysis of the impact of soccer tournaments,” Suyao continues. “It’s nice to hear an expert analysis confirm what we’ve been doing, give legitimacy to our sport, and present we’re on the right path. During our tournaments, we partner with local hotels to help provide group rates that benefit everyone and we allow our restaurant sponsors to distribute coupons at TMSC. But we’re always looking to improve our tournaments, and, they can be even bigger. We’ve had to turn away teams and cap the number at 74 because of a lack of field space and hotels. Part of the reason is a shortage of flat usable land in the High Country, but we’re always looking at potential space to convert into soccer fields.”
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