XENIA, Ohio – Playing soccer on a club level can leave some kids watching from the sidelines. 


What You Need To Know

  • Cedarville University Assistant Soccer Coach Isaac Nelson co-founded Dayton Soccer in 2020

  • The goal is to give access to kids who cannot afford to play

  • More than 100 kids, ages 4-18, currently play for Dayton Soccer without having to worry about expensive club fees or transportation

  • Nelson said it's an opportunity to share his faith while building community

Nelson said it started with being asked if he would be willing to work with kids during the height of the pandemic. His initial thought was to start small and build relationships and trust with the kids while playing at a park.

When the invite went out, “We were expecting, you know, 30 or 40 kids or maybe not all of them wanted to play. Maybe we'd get 25 kids. Let's just see, and we got about 150 kids,” he explained.

From there, things took off as kids now had an outlet and a way to get out of the house. For kids like Tanzanian native, Justin Saidi, it's given him a chance to make new friends.

“It makes me happy and makes me not bored anymore,” Saidi said. 

Affordability is something Nelson focused on to help families.

“I had an opportunity to go play for a really big team, but I couldn't afford to play for that team,” he said.

Limited in his opportunities, Nelson said he played where he could. Hanging in there, the doors finally opened, giving him the chance to play at the collegiate level. That opportunity soon opened the door for him to coach at Cedarville University. It's been good, but he wanted to do more.

“My heart has always been how can we make a difference in American youth sports that has a pay-to-play model that isn't necessarily the case in other countries," he said. “I’m passionate about helping serve these kids that fall in the gaps that through sports we might be able to open up opportunities for them just in life."

So now, families need to pay only a registration fee, something Nelson said is cheaper than most clubs. That's because coaches donate their time, which drops their operating costs.

For kids who can't afford the fee, scholarships are available. But beyond cost, Nelson said bringing the kids together is a way to help learn each other's differences, build community and unify, since kids come from 20 different countries.

“We come from a lot of different cultural backgrounds. Some of us even speak different languages, but here together on this field, we’re working to become one," Nelson said.

While the soccer field allows them to unite for one common purpose, Nelson hopes more people from the community will be inspired to get involved. That's so that they can not only help change kids' lives on and off the field, but help to bridge gaps in the communities in which they live.

To learn more about getting your kids involved, helping to provide rides or even snacks for the kids as a way to learn about others and build community, visit this link.