Sports complex to add 3 additional soccer fields | News, sports, jobs

The photo provided shows the Belmont Soar FC Board of Directors. From left: Britney DePew, Ashley Ward, Rachel Hamilton, Katie Fowkes, Paul Hamilton, Dylan Fowkes, Devin Cain, Jaclyn Ketter and Scott Ketter.

LAFFERTY – A large vacant lot in western Belmont County is home to a new soccer team.

In 1986, a redevelopment project created the 28-acre recreation area now known as the Belmont County Sports Complex. While the two youth baseball diamonds will be used by local groups, Belmont Soar FC will call the area home and look to grow the sport locally.

The complex currently has two youth football pitches – U10 and U12 – but three additional fields and other facilities are planned.

“Right now we are holding training sessions and just trying to promote football in our community.” said Belmont Soar FC President/Coach Jaclyn Ketter. “This is the very first phase of our complex development.

“Surprisingly, we have only been a nonprofit for about eleven months, so we have achieved a lot in a short period of time. We started with one team and now we have two.” she added. “We had no complex or field area. Now we have partnered with the Belmont County Commissioners and plan to develop five fields.

“Hopefully this project outlasts everyone involved.

“We would like to have U4, U6 and U8 teams playing in the spring and then be able to offer programs up to the U14 and high school levels. The southeastern part of Ohio is so rural and not very soccer friendly.” Ketter noted. “We would like to open this in Belmont County and hopefully expand to neighboring counties to promote soccer in this area.”

When asked about the name, Ketter replied: “We wanted to recognize Union Local and western Belmont County. These are the Jets.”

At the moment the club has 40 girls, which is also unique for the club.

“We want to start at a young age and teach them the basics and rules of football so that they learn the right way from the start.” she pointed out. “Any information and rules we can make available to the public, as well as pricing, will determine how we will proceed.

“Football is the sport of the world. It’s finally coming to America and with what Lionel Messi and the U.S. Women’s National Team have accomplished, the sport has generated excitement and interest.”

Ketter added, “I grew up playing soccer in St. Clairsville and now my daughter is there. We simply want the youth of Belmont County to have more opportunities. Too many high schools here don’t have football programs, but I think helping them learn about it now will only benefit everyone later.

“Growing up playing football in this area and now being able to give back my time and knowledge of the sport means more to me than what I can put into words.” she added…

“We’ve never had our own field to practice on.” Belmont Soar board member Devin Cain said. “We tried to get time at Union Local on their field, then we went to Belmont County MRDD. But when we found this property, we knew this was the place we wanted. The commissioners were happy to see that this property was being used more often than it actually is.

“It’s a huge facility with a lot of terrain.

“In the future we are planning a playground so that the little children can do something while watching their older siblings play football. The more they see it, the more they will want to play.” Cain said.

A concession stand and bleachers are also planned, said Ketter.

“We want U4, U6 and U8 to play in the spring and then be able to offer programs up to the U14 and high school levels.” Ketter said.

“What we need to make this work is donations, community engagement and parental involvement to develop this for the future.” said Katie Fowkes, Treasurer of Belmont Soar FC.

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