By Brent Ridenour, President, Ohio Extreme SC, June 13, 2018
“Kids America? Where is that?” I asked. Bryce Parkhill, Director of Soccer at Kids America had contacted me and asked if I would come meet with him to discuss soccer in Coshocton, Ohio, specifically at Kids America. That was August of 2017. Almost a year later, we have had several indoor soccer tournaments and now we have helped start Ohio Extreme SC in Coshocton.
A big thank you to Bryce for inviting me, and also to Brian Dunlap, our new Director, for seeing the vision and trusting in our system and our process.
It’s exactly how we started in Lima. A team here or there. Multiple age groups on one team. Playing in leagues and tournaments for the first time with no clue how we were going to do. Asking parents to believe in what we were doing and most importantly, why we were doing it. Asking players to try new things and watching them struggle some days and thrive on others.
One thing I have not seen in Coshocton are the doubters. Lima was full of doubters. Every person I have met in Coshocton has been nothing but positive and thankful for this opportunity for their soccer players. That is so fun to be around.
Thank you to everyone for opening your arms to Ohio Extreme Soccer Club and for believing and trusting in us. It is not going to happen over night. It’s going to take many years to reach the levels that we have in Lima, but with a positive group of parents, players, and coaches, we can definitely get there sooner than what we did in Lima.
Go Extreme!