Neighborhood Soccer concludes with Festival of Champions

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Another year of Neighborhood Soccer is in the books after Saturday’s fifth-annual Festival of Champions.

Kicking off in the morning, participants competed and showed off skills they learned over the season.

Fourth and fifth graders played at the Sanford Crossing, while second and third graders played against each other at their neighborhood parks.

Officials with the Sioux Falls Family YMCA said the free youth program affects more than 800 children and families across Sioux Falls, and the Festival of Champions has a unique way of bringing people together.

“We’ve seen an amazing impact over the years. We have so many kids who have come back to coach in their neighborhoods, whether they are coaching their siblings or they are coaching neighborhood kids they might know and pay it forward. We also have now had kids play for their high school teams after several years of playing neighborhood soccer and then going through the middle school programs,” said community soccer coordinator Callie Schock.

The Concordia St. Paul women’s soccer team also made an appearance to volunteer.