Soccer’s Staying Power Baseball Appears To Be Out At Home, Replaced In The United States By A Less Traditional Sport

The boys of summer are fading into the distance like a 425-foot home run out of the ballpark on a dark night.

Young Americans used to swarm to the lush green pastures of the neighborhood ballpark with dreams of being the next Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays or Babe Ruth.

Today, young athletes take to the grass and fantasize about being the next Alexi Lalas, Cobi Jones or Paul Caligiuri.

Yes, the boys of summer are turning into the boys of soccer. And so are the girls.

Those who suggest that soccer will one day become as popular as baseball tend to be treated like Communists at a free market convention.

But nationwide, young people are playing soccer more than ever.

And in Spokane, more kids are donning the psychedelic swirls of soccer uniforms than the traditional pinstripes of a baseball jersey.

The Spokane Youth Sports Association reports that 5,000 boys and girls ages 6-15 played in soccer leagues in the fall of 1995 and spring of this year.

That compares to 4,400 boys and girls playing baseball and softball right now.

The Spokane Valley Junior Soccer Association reports 3,060 boys and girls, also ages 6-15, are playing soccer, while the Valley baseball and softball offices report 2,500 youngsters are enrolled in those organizations.

“Soccer has been steadily climbing more than baseball and softball for about the last five to six years,” said Sherrie Mellon, an office manager with the Spokane Youth Sports Association.

“We really saw a jump in soccer participation after the World Cup, and we’re still feeling its effects.”

But even before the U.S. held the World Cup in 1994, young athletes had been rapidly flocking to soccer.

In 1987, the Valley’s soccer association had 904 players enrolled. That figure has more than tripled since then. By the year 2000, the association estimates 5,000 players will be enrolled.

Soon, the Valley will have a 35-acre soccer complex to help handle the high demand.

Last year, in Idaho’s Kootenai County, 750 soccer players signed up for the spring season.

In 1994, 770 played in both the spring and fall sessions.

And it may not be coincidental that soccer’s meteoric rise among young people has occurred at a time when baseball, once America’s past-time, has lost popularity with young athletes.

According to the SYSA, in 1994, 3,300 boys played baseball compared to 3,056 the following year. This year, 3,200 boys are playing baseball.

In the same time period, girls playing softball through the SYSA numbered 1,100 before falling just slightly to 1,026 during the baseball strike. This year, softball participation is back up to 1,200.

However, baseball’s problems don’t explain all of soccer’s growth in Spokane. Many soccer players and coaches say the nature of the game is what is attractive to them.

Perhaps no one expressed it better than Trevor Harelson did last year: “I liked playing soccer a lot more because it’s more active,” he said. “I just got bored standing around in baseball all the time.”

A 1995 graduate of Cheney High School, Harelson quit the Blackhawks’ baseball team his senior year to play soccer.

In the boys high school season, baseball and soccer are both played in the spring.

In the Valley, George and Dee Skidmore are the president and office manager of the Spokane Valley Junior Soccer Association. They were drawn to soccer by their sons. With the exception of one of their five children, all of them played soccer.

Still, not everyone has been converted as a fan of the world’s most popular sport.

“I don’t understand it, it’s too frustrating too me,” said former Central Valley basketball coach Terry Irwin. “I’m a guy who grew up on football, basketball and baseball. I have nothing against anyone who wants to participate or watch soccer, but I just don’t enjoy it.”

Christian Birrer is the boys varsity soccer coach at Gonzaga Prep. He said Irwin’s sentiment is something he hears all the time.

“People who aren’t involved with soccer in some capacity see it as some kind of evil entity that will draw attention away from their favorite sports,” Birrer said.

“Because it is more popular in other parts of the world, a lot of people see it as almost anti-American.”

Tom Halvorson, former president and current treasurer of Spokane’s American Legion Baseball program, said there is a financial advantage soccer enjoys over baseball.

“There’s just a lot less equipment that is needed,” Halvorson said. “We (American Legion) have to scratch like crazy to get sponsors.”

Birrer also believes soccer players aren’t bound by certain limitations that exist in other sports.

“In soccer, your size isn’t going to matter as much as it will in football or basketball,” Birrer said. “You can be shorter than 6 feet, and if you’re good, you can have an impact on the game.

“Almost anyone can play soccer. And unlike baseball, you’re constantly involved in the game.”

Mead softball coach Bridget Monahan thinks soccer may have appeal because of another reason.

“I like soccer because it’s good for athletes physically, but baseball and softball require good hand-eye coordination required to catch or hit a ball. They may be a little more difficult to play in that sense,” Monahan said.

Not so, responded Eddie Birrer, Christian’s father.

“Have you ever tried to catch a ball with your feet? Have you ever tried to play any sport without the use of your hands?” said Eddie Birrer, who has been coaching youth soccer leagues in Spokane for 20 years.

“Soccer reminds me of basketball and hockey because it’s a really highly fluid game,” he added.

Like football, in soccer, 11 players are required. But what local soccer leagues have done for the youngest and newest players has been the formation of small-sided games.

Instead 11-on-11 contests, teams are broken down to 5-on-5 or 3-on-3, with the intention of getting more players immediately involved in the flow of the game.

“I think a lot of parents put their kids in soccer at an early age to help them for their baseball, football and basketball,” Christian Birrer said. “It’s a great way to get them active early. At the same time, many parents are learning to appreciate a sport they didn’t grow up with.”

For many middle-aged Americans who didn’t grow up with soccer, it’s tough to convince them soccer is a sport that’s worth putting on a pedestal next to baseball.

“I’ll tell you this,” said a parent of a young soccer players who asked to remain anonymous.

“My kids love soccer, and it tears me apart,” he said. “I can’t get them to pick up a mitt to save my life.

“I hate admitting this, it’s sad, but baseball was the bridge between me and my father.

“I watch my kids play soccer, I take them to practice games, kick the ball around with them, but personally, I hate that game.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo