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Soccer league kicks off summer season
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Neighbors | Pam Jadue.Casey Custer, playing for ComDoc, takes the ball down the field to score.
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Tim Lucik of Occasional Chocolate makes the play during a game at the Austintown Junior Soccer League fields in Austintown.
By PAM JADUE
The Austintown Junior Soccer League opened its 2010 season June 1 with more than 900 players. All games will be held at the Austintown Junior Soccer League Derek Wall fields on Ohltown Road through July 16 with 94 teams rotating through the schedule.
The AJSL is a coed recreational league with players ages 4-17 and teams divided by age. Teams are chosen through a blind draw in an effort to create balanced teams.
This year’s season will be completed the weekend of July 17 with the Falcon Cup being the final event of the season. The Falcon Cup allows teams to compete for the top positions in each age group.
Last year was the first year the league allowed for a U-6 age group. The younger children played with modified rules on a smaller field as an introduction to the game. The expansion was well received with approximately 135 children in this age group. The 4 and 5-year-old age group was continued this year.
Improvements made at the field this year were completed with the help of volunteers and include a new shed to store equipment and the sanding and painting of the goals.
Operating as a nonprofit organization and recreational league, AJSL is dependent on a large number of volunteers and sponsors to guarantee success. Volunteers have contributed countless hours as coaches, assistants, field care takers and concession stand workers.
Teams are supported by more than 80 area sponsors. The league supplies each player with the uniform shirt and socks and a trophy or medal at the end of the season.
Reaching out to the community, the Austintown Junior Soccer League has continued to host the Catholic Youth Soccer League which holds games at the field throughout the spring.