Students learn soccer skills from Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Eric Morris/For the Observer-Reporter
Pittsburgh Riverhounds sporting director Jason Kutney works with kindergarten students at West Newton Elementary School during Riverhounds Sub In for Gym Class.
Eric Morris/For the Observer-Reporter
Pittsburgh Riverhounds sporting director Jason Kutney hands out anti-bullying bracelets to kindergarten students at West Newton Elementary School following a Riverhounds Sub In for Gym Class session.
James Meara, director of soccer operations for Riverhounds Academy East, helps West Newton kindergartner Braelynn Lamb balance a soccer ball on her neck.
Eric Morris/For the Observer-Reporter
West Newton kindergarten student Olivia Henry practices footwork with a soccer ball.
Eric Morris/For the Observer-Reporter
First-grade students at West Newton Elementary try to balance soccer balls on the bridge of their noses as demonstrated by Jason Kutney, sporting director for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
SStudents in gym classes across Southwestern Pennsylvania are learning soccer from the pros.
A Pittsburgh Riverhounds program to expose young children throughout the region to soccer is expanding beyond Pittsburgh schools into Greene, Fayette and Westmoreland counties with the addition of Chevron Corp. as a sponsor.
Riverhounds Sub In for Gym Class, a school-based training program that places Riverhounds coaches and players inside elementary schools to introduce students to soccer fundamentals, launched this fall for the first time outside of Pittsburgh.
Jason Kutney, sporting director for Riverhounds SC, calls it a “passion project.”
“This program lets us introduce soccer to a lot of these areas in Southwestern Pennsylvania where they may not have the resources for regimented soccer programs,” said Kutney.
“It’s been really cool to get in there and work with the kids and see how receptive they are to soccer,” he said.
The goal of the program is rooted in creating a sense of enjoyment for the game of soccer among young children, who may not have been regularly exposed to it or who may not have the available resources to play in their communities.
Provided at no cost to the schools, Riverhounds personnel teach students about skills associated with the sport, including balance and coordination, body control and footwork with the soccer ball. Each student gets his or her own ball for the duration of gym class.
“We teach things that translate to other sports very well. Most of all, we try to have as much fun as possible,” said Kutney, a New Jersey native who played soccer professionally for nine years, ending his career with the Riverhounds in 2013 and joining the team’s ownership group.
Kutney said the program initially launched in April 2017 at Sto-Rox Upper Elementary School in Allegheny County. Supported by Allegheny Health Network, it flourished in Pittsburgh-area schools.
Now with funding from Chevron, Riverhounds Sub In for Gym Class held its first event in the tri-county area at Bobtown Elementary School in the Southeastern Greene School District, followed by another residency at West Newton Elementary School in the Yough School District, both in October.
West Newton Elementary Principal Dave Hoffman said it’s special to be one of the first schools chosen to participate in the program outside of the immediate Pittsburgh area.
“The intention is to get kids excited about playing soccer. Think about how many times kids get to work with a pro athlete. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most of them,” said Hoffman.
“I’m at a loss of words for how happy the kids are. The smiles on their faces – you couldn’t ask for more for a child being inside a school,” he added.
Chevron’s funding provides equipment – soccer balls, bags, cones, etc. – as well as a soccer-inspired curriculum for the gym teachers to utilize in their classes when the Riverhounds end their stay at the schools.
Students and faculty will be provided Pittsburgh Riverhounds tickets for a home game at Highmark Stadium next spring.
“Programs like this not only teach kids a fun, new sport, but also lessons about physical fitness that they can take with them throughout their lives,” said Trip Oliver, policy, government and public affairs manager for Chevron.
The Riverhounds plans to bring Sub In for Gym Class to Brownsville Area Elementary School in the Brownsville Area School District and George J. Plava Elementary School in the Albert Gallatin Area School District later this year.