New Shoes
What: BOOT/ReBOOT program
When: Saturday (all day during Mead Cup; other Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)
Where: CUSA shelter, near stadium field at Oak Grove Park, Centerville
Online: www.centervillesoccer.com
It didn’t take Suzi Rudolph long to find what she was looking for on the two tables full of soccer cleats at Oak Grove Park in Centerville on an overcast Saturday morning last month. The local soccer mom plucked a sharp-looking pair of black Nikes, size 4, for her 10-year-old daughter, Grace.
Grace, a veteran of five seasons, liked the fit and her mother proceeded to hand in a yellow voucher as payment.
“We turn them over about once a year, sometimes more,” Rudolph said. “It’s kind of nice to get some cheap shoes. They don’t get much use from them to start with.”
Like many parents, Rudolph typically would buy her daughter’s soccer shoes from a store, but when she heard of the Centerville Recreational Soccer League’s new BOOT/ReBOOT shoe exchange program, she tried a different route. Rudolph traded in a pair of cleats for the same voucher she used on the near-new Nikes.
The BOOT/ReBOOT Program was created in the spring by Centerville United Soccer Association board members Patrick McQuillan and Phil Meilinger. Each has children playing in CUSA, which this fall has more than 100 teams and 1,000 kids participating.
McQuillan and Meilinger were well aware of one thing — kids outgrow cleats quickly.
“My 5-year-old, she wears her shoes for basically nine games and nine practices,” said McQuillan, a parent of three. “That’s no more than about nine hours a season. I looked at the bottom and the grid on the cleats hadn’t even worn off. We thought it would be a great way to recycle them and give back.”
The initial push began with an e-mail to CUSA parents and coaches requesting gently used cleats of all sizes. Meilinger, a graphic artist by trade, came up with the slick BOOT/ReBOOT logo featuring a pair of neon-colored cleats with a soccer ball in the background.
Through those e-mails, they were able to collect about 60 pairs of shoes (up to size 11 men’s) at designated drop-off days, while issuing vouchers to parents. Last Saturday’s event at Oak Grove Park was the first official exchange day.
“From what we’ve seen with the parents, it seems like a great idea,” Meilinger said.
CUSA parent Brad Weltge’s three kids range from ages 6 to 11 — and they tear through equipment.
“When we get into soccer season, they basically use a pair of cleats for just one season, whether it’s fall or spring, and then they need new shoes again,” Weltge said. “This type of program is really excellent for families with multiple children.”
While the program is in its infancy, McQuillan and Meilinger hope to see it expand. They have added shin guards and balls to the list of accepted gear. McQuillan also started a Facebook page and has had tremendous response, including an offer by one of his San Francisco-based friends to donate a box full of cleats.
CUSA’s Neil “Scooby” Daniels, Director of Coaching for the Ohio Galaxies, sees this as a viable program for older kids, as well.
“The game has gotten to a point where we’re leaving people out because they don’t have the big checkbook,” said Daniels, a Durban, South Africa, native who played professionally in New Orleans. “This will make it a little more affordable for a kid who has a pair of shoes but has outgrown them.”
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