The never-ending reach of the world’s game extends to Park City where every Sunday evening eight different teams get together with one common goal:
Put on a show for a burgeoning crowd and bury a goal in the back of the net.
The Multicultural Men’s Soccer League at the Basin Recreation Fieldhouse presents an avenue for soccer aficionados from all parts of the globe to showcase their talents, develop rivalries and enjoy the spirited atmosphere that had been lacking in the community for the past few years.
Pedro Alvarez saw a pressing need for soccer and delivered.
“The only thing I can say is, before, there wasn’t a men’s league,” said Paco Javier who has been playing soccer at the Fieldhouse for years.
Alvarez approached Basin Recreation and asked for permission to bring a competitive indoor soccer men’s league back to Park City. In a previous life, a few brawls marred the league for all soccer-goers and eventually the plug was pulled.
“We decided not to do it anymore,” said Fieldhouse recreation manager Matt Strader. “Now, that league brings more crowd than any other thing we have. It doesn’t get much better than Sunday nights.
“They just love to play soccer.”
Players hail from Brazil, Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico and the U.S. Team names that range from Los Diablos Rojos, PC Pool Spa, Deportivo Real and Heber City United are just a few to be mentioned.
Some might assume the league is an association of has-beens, but show up to the Fieldhouse on a Sunday night and you may see some exciting, free-flowing soccer: heel passes, step-overs, long-range rifle shots and athletic, stretched-out saves.
The league features some electrifying youngsters and some sturdy veterans of the game, and while play does get heated at times, Alvarez is always there, sitting at his scorer’s table alone at midfield to calm the tensions and get the focus back to just playing soccer.
“Everybody respects him,” Strader said.
Midway through the season, the league is approaching the playoffs that will be held toward the end of February and into March. Strader said the rekindled success of the league gives the Fieldhouse confidence to renew the league going forward.
“Right now it’s working out just great,” he said.
Alvarez, an employee at Treasure Mountain International School, has established this league along with a summer league that targets young Latino soccer players. To Alvarez, soccer is more than just a ball and a goal, it’s a way to help young people and guide them through tough times. He specified that soccer can also win the tug-of-war between potential gang activity and life on the pitch.
“The most important thing is getting involved with the community,” he said. “This is more important.”
The organization is just an example of the league that Alvarez and others have been able to build back from the ground up and provide a legitimate platform for community involvement.
Sunday nights at the Fieldhouse is as rowdy yet family-based as it gets off the slopes during the winter. And as the results and fans keep piling in, the cheers will just get louder and the goals will continue to look that much more important.
“Guys here were telling me there wasn’t going to be a men’s league, but Pedro got them to do it,” Javier said.