Getting soccer fields ready for regional championships a challenge

U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships

What: Qualifier for national finals for boys and girls in age groups 13 to 19

When: Round-robin play Saturday through Monday; semifinals Tuesday; finals Wednesday

Where: John Ankeney Soccer Complex in Beavercreek and Athletes in Action Sports Complex in Xenia

Participants: 212 teams and more than 3,500 players

Parking: Passes must be purchased for $10 per day or $25 for entire tournament

BEAVERCREEK — John Ankeney spent part of Tuesday, June 22, painting signs for tents on the grounds of the John Ankeney Soccer Complex.

But paint wasn’t the problem. Grass was.

“It’s growing faster than we can keep up,” said Ankeney, executive director of the Beavercreek Soccer Association and namesake of the 18-field complex near the corner of Ohio 35 and Orchard Lane.

There are only so many days left to mow, and the job is getting tougher.

With 212 teams attempting to qualify for the national finals in 14 divisions, the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships will be a youth soccer focal point for 13 states when it begins Saturday, June 26, and runs through the finals on Wednesday.

If only the darn rain would stop. Ankeney and his fellow organizers, after all, have 60 acres of land to mow to prepare the fields for an event awarded by bid based on quality of facilities and skill in administrating a large event.

Uninterrupted, it takes about 10 hours to cut the Ankeney complex with an 18-foot mower and tractor. But soon, tents and other temporary tournament pieces will make that a much longer enterprise.

“Hopefully we’ll have some more folks with some riding mowers, and the city might pitch in,” Ankeney said. “Normally we mow three times a week, but this rain is hurting us.”