Florida Youth Soccer

Increase in girls' soccer in U.S. is a winning trend, participants say

Orlando (CNN) -- On a steamy Florida mid-summer morning, two girls' teams battle in the finals of the the Disney Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament .

Competition is fierce between the teams from opposite corners of the United States.

The Tracyton Tornados from Washington state and the FC America team from central Florida both earned the right to participate in this semi-final game during the annual competition that draws teams from the United States and other countries.

This game and the tournament are an outgrowth of an American trend -- the number of children playing soccer in the United States has grown dramatically, especially among young girls who idolized the U.S. women's soccer teams competing in the World Cup.

Just three decades ago, the U.S. Youth Soccer organization counted its membership at 100,000. Today, as municipal parks are filled with millions of young soccer players, the organization counts more than 3 million young players, according to its website.

The Disney Cup has taken place for the past 13 years at ESPN's Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World. The complex's numbers reflect a growth of women participating in sports in general.

"Sixty percent of athletes that participate at the Wide World of Sports of approximately 300,000 athletes are women," says Mike Millay, business director of the complex.

The sports park holds sporting competitions year round for baseball, football, soccer, basketball, along with track and field.

Venessa Starcher -- mom, soccer coach and former soccer player -- loves the sport intimately. In fact, she wishes she could still play, but the years can get in the way.

"I've seen women's soccer go from a small sport to a huge sport, I think it's the fastest growing sport because the other ones have been around for a long time," said Starcher, whose daughter plays on the FC America team.

This soccer mom believes every time the U.S. women's soccer team competes in high-profile competitions like the World Cup, it exposes more girls and young women to the game.

"People start watching not that they're interested in soccer, but they like to see America win," says Starcher. But once they watch, the game catches on.

The U.S women's soccer team won the 1999 World Cup, grabbing the attention of girls and women throughout the United States

When Title Nine -- the U.S law that banned discrimination based on sex in education and other activities for schools that received federal funding -- became law in 1972, women's participation in sports exploded.

Florida Youth Soccer Association Partners with SportsSignup to ...

Latham, NY (PRWEB) October 15, 2008

Florida Youth Soccer Association (FYSA), one of the largest state soccer associations in the United States, today announced that they will utilize SportsSignup’s KidSafePlus™ service to administer and manage criminal background checks for all coaches and volunteers throughout the state. KidSafePlus is an online background check management system that facilitates background check processing, case tracking and communication with applicants. The system combines an easy-to-use, sports-centric online interface with one of the most comprehensive, nation-wide criminal background checks available.

“With over 15,000 coaches and volunteers throughout the state of Florida, one of our key requirements is to process a high-volume of background checks while providing timely, accurate results in a manageable way,” said Tommy Thompson, president of FYSA. “The SportsSignup system exceeded this requirement, and so far has dramatically changed the way we manage our screening process. Using KidSafePlus, we can deal with adverse cases more efficiently, and at the same time maintain the utmost respect for the privacy of our volunteer applicants,” continued Thompson.

The backbone of the KidSafePlus system is a National Criminal File (NCrF) Search provided by SportsSignup’s partner ChoicePoint®, Inc., a LexisNexis® company. The National Criminal File is a comprehensive data file of over 200 million criminal conviction records from multiple criminal record repositories covering all 50 states. The NCrF database includes but is not limited to data from the Department of Corrections (Prison, Parole & Release Files), Fugitive File/Government Watch Lists, Department of Public Safety (DPS), Administrative Office of Courts, and Sex and Violent Offender Register/Predator Records. All searches conducted through KidSafePlus are compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

“One of the most challenging aspects for sports organizations managing background check screening is dealing with large volumes of individual applicants and providing fast and accurate results, all while maintaining a process that is in compliance with applicable laws,” said Anthony Bruno, CEO of SportsSignup. “With KidSafePlus, we have overcome these and many of the obstacles associated with the intimidating task of managing background check processing. As a result, more comprehensive background screening is being adopted by sports organizations around the country, with the intent to increase the safety and welfare of children involved in their sports programs.

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