Thanks to a partnership between Hillsburgh, Erin and District Soccer (HEADS) and the Erin Agricultural Society, local soccer players are now able to enjoy a year-round indoor facility.
On Nov. 15 the new Erin Indoor Recreation Centre (EIRC) officially opened. The new indoor facility offers turfed grounds and a 120-by-68 foot game area.
The facility can accommodate more than just soccer, including a range of activities such as yoga, aerobics, walking groups and after school programs.
The intent is to run the centre daily from 9am to 10pm Monday to Friday – and 8am to 10pm on weekends.
The facility will continue to be used for the Erin Fall Fair in October and will not be available for bookings at that time.
Dale Smith, vice president of HEADS noted there was a lot of work involved getting the project together.
“It’s trying to fill a need for indoor space in our area,” said Smith.
He explained indoor space in surrounding areas is being booked up so quickly it is hard to get. He also suggested the agricultural society wasn’t making much money off the existing building as it was.
“We’re hoping this will help the community,” Smith said, adding organizers have been working on the idea for the past few years – first to reach agreement between the two groups.
“It’s a lot of money that has been invested and it’s sometimes difficult to show that it sometimes takes spending money to make a bit of money.”
Smith admits there is risk in everything even though people want to see guarantees.
“Are we able to guarantee we’ll be able to rent it out? No, but if you look at other facilities, we believe we have something which will work out well.”
He noted plans are in the works for an after school program for kids, which is pretty inexpensive. He said the centre is also taking applications for indoor soccer starting up in January. Those interested can find out more at www.headsoccerclub.ca or www.eirc.ca.
Michael Glogowski, coach of the girls’ U-17 rep team (currently the only rep team in HEADS), spoke of his team, which is a mix of under 16-year-olds and under 17-year-olds – “which makes it more challenging age-wise.”
Glogowski noted that last summer the team attended the Minnesota USA Cup. Over 1,000 teams and close to 20,000 players of all ages took part from as far as Costa Rica, Norway, Iceland and all over the U.S. and Canada.
“We did really well and ended up winning the Silver ‘B’ Side,” said Glogowski. “It was a great experience and we had a wonderful time at the week-long tournament.
“They ate, breathed and lived soccer for the week. They met all different age groups and really enjoyed the culture of soccer experience.”
Glogowski added “we’re aiming to go once again, but the biggest thing is fundraising.” He explained the cost is about $2,000 per player, in addition to the rep team fee of roughly $750. The team is currently fundraising and trying to find sponsors.
As to the new facility, Glogowski “this is truly amazing. It’s been a long time coming. We needed a facility to work with all year round.”
He explained that in the past the team had to book indoor space outside of the community – in places like Orangeville, Acton or Marden.
But because the team is not considered local to those communities, “we’d get the leftover time, which is usually not convenient for anyone.”
While the Erin facility might be a little smaller, Glogowski said it is still great for younger groups and for scrimmages and drills for the older groups.
