TeamSnap Impact Partner Profile: Maryland State Youth Soccer Association

Maryland State Youth Soccer Association – MSYSA for short – supports over 240 clubs and 79,000 registered players. From coach clearances to player cards, MSYSA does it all – including bringing soccer to kids who have never had the opportunity to play. 

As the director of outreach and grassroots for MSYSA, Nathean Meadows helps support and grow rec soccer, specifically in under-resourced communities through the Let’s Play program. It’s personal for Meadows who grew up in a low income home with a single mother. 

“My life was surrounded by crime and drugs and all of the worst things that you can imagine,” he says. “It’s an amazing thrill and honor for me to be able to draw on my experiences as a child and help others that might be experiencing the same thing.” 

Launching Let’s Play 

For 45 years, MSYSA focused primarily on developing their elite travel teams. In 2021, when Covid restrictions were easing up, “travel competitive soccer was right back out on the field,” says Meadows. Rec soccer did not bounce back in the same way. “It was really hit hard, often showing 50 to 60 percent drops in enrollments. It really helped us to see that there were big needs in our community.” 

MSYSA turned their attention to communities that couldn’t provide soccer because of a multitude of barriers – lack of transportation, programming options, green space, and financial resources – and launched the first Let’s Play program in the fall of 2021. Let’s Play is held at schools, at the end of the school day, eliminating the transportation barrier. MSYSA provides all the equipment, coaching and mentors. 

From the beginning of the program, TeamSnap Impact has been a significant supporter of Let’s Play. Their initial funding got the program up and running in three schools. “More kids are getting to participate because of TeamSnap,” says Meadows. 

The benefits

It’s no secret that participating in sports can have a positive impact on children. By sharing new experiences with kids, Let’s Play is also giving them new opportunities. “Children that grow up in under-resourced communities struggle in so many different ways,” says Meadows. Let’s Play is about much more than playing soccer. “This is really about building relationships, building connections and engaging with children to give them hope and optimism for the future.” 

Let’s Play has also had an effect on attendance in the schools where the program is run. “On the day that Let’s Play is happening, the kids that traditionally don’t show up are coming to school,” says Meadows. Even better, kids are displaying more socially inclusive behaviors. “Schools are telling us that they’re seeing boys and girls playing together at recess for the first time.”

The challenges

Of course, there are challenges. Funding is always an issue. MSYSA uses supplemental sources to cover the cost of the program, the equipment, and the coaches and mentors. Every kid that participates in Let’s Play gets a free pair of cleats, a soccer ball and a water bottle. “We want to give them some of the basic tools that they need to be able to continue to play the game beyond our program.”  

And there’s never enough people power. “If we could find more coach mentors, then there would be more opportunities for more kids to participate,” says Meadows. This is one of the many reasons Meadows is grateful for TeamSnap. “TeamSnap is the only organization that we work with that actually puts boots on the ground, that brings real human people to connect with the kids,” says Meadows. The fact that MYSA and TeamSnap share a mindset – to help as many kids as possible – means a lot to Meadows. “To say, ‘we’re supporting you and we’re in this together,’ that’s been important for us.” 

Learn more about TeamSnap Impact – and how sports can make a difference in the lives of kids everywhere.