Sunday, 09/30/07

Chip Shots: Adult soccer players find new home in Cool Springs

By CHIP CIRILLO
Staff Writer

A new rule prompted a search for a new field and a new league.

Such was the case for the new Middle Tennessee Soccer Alliance, which planned its opening ceremony yesterday at Freeman Fields in Cool Springs.  About 500 adults played in three Williamson County Soccer Association leagues last season before a rule requiring 70 percent of the players to be county residents was enacted in August.

That prompted nearly 400 players to form the new league on an abandoned field.

"We were playing at the Williamson County Soccer Complex in Franklin, and (the Parks & Recreation Department) decided that they wanted to basically preserve those fields more for the youth leagues," MTSA president Bret Dye said. "They established some rules that forced us to come up with a new plan. Really, it's probably for the best."

Dye, a Franklin resident, estimates that 40 percent of the MTSA is composed of Williamson County players and the rest are from the Middle Tennessee area. He said the adult players in the Middle Tennessee area needed to develop a long-term plan, so they set up a nonprofit organization.

"We decided that instead of paying others, we can pay ourselves and use that money to continue to improve our league, plus build new fields," Dye said. "That's really the mission of this organization, and our long-term goal is to someday build a whole new soccer complex hopefully in the Franklin-Brentwood area."

The renovated field the MTSA is using is on Gothic Court behind Fitness Systems near Southern Ice Arena. D1 Sports Training and Therapy built it several years ago before moving to a new location in 2006.

When the MTSA founders first looked at the old D1 field, they realized a lot of work had to be done before it could be used for league play.

"When we got down there about six weeks ago . . . the whole place was 3 feet tall with weeds," Dye said. "Part of it's old Bermuda, part of it's new sod so it's not going to look like a beautiful, pristine Bermuda field. But it's amazing what this group of people has done with it in just six weeks."

The league didn't hire a landscaping crew; members did the work themselves. Billy Clark of Fairview, who specializes in field restoration, guided the players through the renovation process.

"It's kind of our field of dreams, and we've been restoring it," Dye said. "We're also looking into new opportunities around the Franklin-Brentwood area where we can maybe use other fields or start building some new ones in the near future."

The league may play some of its games at Freedom Intermediate School and build fields in co-op arrangements with county churches. Two more fields may be added to Freeman Fields next spring.

League play was scheduled to begin Saturday. The MTSA has 28 teams in its first season, and Dye is optimistic that it will grow in the near future. Dye is involved with several local soccer clubs, and they all have field shortages.

"None of these clubs have enough space," Dye said. "They're all desperate for practice space and places where they can play their tournaments. What we're seeing here is not only an opportunity to provide a home for the adults in this area, but also provide some much-needed relief for some of the clubs, hopefully."

Dye said there are no hard feelings between the association and the Williamson County Soccer Association.

"In fact, the Williamson County Parks & Rec just bought us six new soccer goals, which I thought was a really nice gesture on their part," Dye said. "At the end of the day, everybody is doing what they feel like they have to do. With a lot of hard work and volunteer spirit, people have come together and resurrected this (field) from nothing into what I think is going to be a real nice facility in time. "