Crew refocuses community outreach on soccer education
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The Crew have joined the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network to work toward improving attendance at partner schools. Photos: Courtesy of the Columbus Crew
Away from the pitch, the Columbus Crew has refocused its community outreach efforts on investing in youth soccer.
Why it matters: It's all connected, from the youngest kids to the Crew first team, as the franchise looks to bolster its academy and expand its talent pipeline.
Flashback: When the current ownership group took over in 2019, staffers were shocked by the lack of team infrastructure.
- "There was a skeleton of a club left when the Haslam and Edwards families took over," VP and general counsel Mary Shepro tells Axios. "We still are really getting up to full speed."
- The team got to work installing mini pitches and other fields at schools and parks of varying surfaces.
What they found: Those programs, while welcome, weren't particularly impactful — the team quickly realized it's preferable to play on real grass fields.
- The focus has since shifted to education and programming.
- "We're going to be impacting many more kids by meeting them where they are," community relations director Stephanie Cedeño tells us.
Between the lines: The team launched the Crew Soccer in Schools program, providing free curriculum and equipment to Columbus City Schools students between grades 3-5.
- And the franchise joined the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network in partnership with 36 local districts.
The last word: General manager Issa Tall has spoken about his desire to tap into Columbus's talent and fill the Crew academy with local kids.
- For the first time, the team is making community decisions with that pipeline in mind, and Shepro says the Crew player pathway runs from birth through their time in the academy.
- "A kid knowing, 'If I practice something, I will get better,' is really powerful," Cedeño says.