According to one estimate, the yearly equipment budget for a physical education teacher is $500.

That does not buy a lot of soccer balls. (Or anything else.)

And whether or not a teacher is familiar with the game, they may not feel comfortable creating lesson plans to teach it. (Or have the time to do so.)

But, says Sari Rose, “Every kid needs P.E. And every P.E. teacher needs soccer.”

As a longtime player and coach — she was on Wake Forest University’s first women’s team, coached at the college level for nine years, and served as assistant technical director for the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association — Rose knows the importance of introducing youngsters to the sport.

And as senior manager, grassroots for US Youth Soccer, she’s in a position to make it happen. “Soccer for Success: Soccer in Schools” is a partnership between US Youth Soccer and the U.S. Soccer Foundation, and in spring 2023, US Youth Soccer received an Innovate to Grow Grant from U.S. Soccer.

The idea is simple: provide training, and ready-made lesson plans, for four levels (grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12), aligned with national physical education standards.

Then, give them the soccer balls to go do it.

With backing from USYS’s CEO Skip Gilbert and Chief Soccer Officer Tom Condone and U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Sarah Pickens and Lisa Perry, a pilot program began five years ago.

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