Imagine a soccer game where every player has the same colour jersey. There are no home or away teams, and every player has the same No. 18 stamped on their backs. No, this isnB次元官网网址檛 weird dream, itB次元官网网址檚 non-competitive outdoor soccer.

Instead of focusing on shooting to score, these kids are learning fundamentals of the sport such as dribbling, passing and trapping.

B次元官网网址淲e want to light the little fire in them. We arenB次元官网网址檛 geared towards creating elite athletes, we just want them to be passionate,B次元官网网址� said Lee Richardson, the West Shore-based Sportball program director for Vancouver Island.

At the end of each class the kids are divided to play a game against each other, but B次元官网网址渨e try to have it end in a tie,B次元官网网址� Richardson said.

The outdoor soccer program is offered to children two to eight years old.

When it comes to the program for two and three year olds, Richardson doesnB次元官网网址檛 have to worry about getting all the young tots to listen to him.

B次元官网网址淭he parents are the personal trainers for the kids,B次元官网网址� he said explaining he goes over the drills with the parents who do them with the kids.

While Sportball focuses on skills rather than goals, many kids do move on to competitive teams.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of the time it feeds into competitive soccer,B次元官网网址� Richardson said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a great chance for kids to get comfortable and get self-esteem and confidence with sports. A lot of parents get frustrated to see their kids on the sidelines,B次元官网网址� Richardson said. B次元官网网址淗ere everyone gets the ball. Even when they are playing a game we work them and guide them.B次元官网网址�

Metchosin resident Tammy Cowan, has enrolled her two sons, Evan, 7, and Blake, 6, in several Sportball programs at both Metchosin elementary and Hans Helgesen elementary school.

For Cowan, she signed her kids up in the program not because it was non-competitive, but because it was offered in Metchosin. One the Sportball programs is offered at Hans Helgesen school, and offered right after school for the kids to go to.

B次元官网网址淎 big part of it was because it was out here,B次元官网网址� Cowan said adding at Hans Helgesen there has been no sports programs at the school after hours due to the teachers actions.

Soccer is one of the brotherB次元官网网址檚 favourite sports so far, and after having the exposure through Sportball.

B次元官网网址淚f they enjoy it theyB次元官网网址檒l move onto a league,B次元官网网址� Cowan said.

The brothers are also in the multi-sport program through Sportball as well.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 good practise and they get to play a lot of different sports,B次元官网网址� Cowan said explaining that without Sportball she wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have been able to expose her kids the assortment of sports they have tried.

The multi-sport program, also non-competitive, allows children to experience sports including hockey, soccer, volleyball and golf.

That program is offered to children as young as 16 months old.

B次元官网网址淭hat is really about basic skills like how to hold a racquet,B次元官网网址� Richardson said. Young tots learning sports such as tennis will start by hitting a ball sitting on a pylon, then move up to bouncing it off the floor to hit it, he explained.

The outdoor soccer program run by Sportball has been growing each year on the West Shore since 2006. The Sportball program on the West Shore has more kids enrolled than any other area in Greater Victoria.

sports@goldstreamgazette.com