The ISU men’s soccer club takes pride in its involvement in the community, and representatives from the Ames Soccer Club is thankful for the club’s time and energy.

Sandro Bassinini, the director of Coaching of the Ames Soccer club, is appreciative.

“There’s no way the Ames Soccer Club could put together the programs without their help,” he said. “They’re a good bunch of kids.”

The programs Bassinini refers to have grown in popularity over the last couple years.

The ISU men’s soccer club has two programs in place with the Ames Soccer Club. The first is a Friday night jamboree session at the Ames Soccer Complex. This program runs on Friday nights starting in September and continuing into November with the weather permitting.

These sessions allow area youth to come play soccer with their peers. The children are free from coaching during these sessions that last an hour and a half, but are guided by members of the ISU men’s soccer club.

In that 90 minutes, the children are first led in a warm-up, then they spend 15 minutes developing a technique.

After that they are allowed to play games, including “goalie wars” or participating in mini-tournaments.

The sessions are designed to spark the interest of soccer in the children of the Ames area. The ISU soccer club players also believe it is helpful for the kids to see the other children who wish to be involved in soccer.

“I am really happy we have a chance to reach out to these kids,” said Dustin Villhauer, president and a three-year member of the club.

During the Friday night jamborees, as many as 10 players from the men’s soccer club assist and supervise the area youth soccer players.

Cold weather in Iowa does not allow most children to participate in soccer leagues this time of year. But with the help of the ISU men’s soccer club, the youth in Ames and surrounding towns such as Gilbert, Boone and Nevada are getting a chance at an indoor soccer league.

The indoor league is open to the entire community. The leagues are for youth starting at age 8, continuing into adult leagues. Villhauer said the adult leagues attract many ISU faculty and professors.

The league runs on Saturday and Sunday morning in the double gym in Forker. Each team is guaranteed two games.

Many of the ISU men’s soccer club team help the Ames Soccer Club by providing coaches for their teams and also help with tournaments.

The ISU soccer club players, who are also students with academics and social lives to worry about, are strictly volunteering their time.

By being involved with the indoor soccer league, the ISU men’s soccer club has a chance to earn money for its club expenses. But it’s more than the money that drives these students to help out.

“It’s not very often that college kids get to work with 8-, 9- and 10-year-olds,” Villhauer said. “You get to watch them emerge into energetic players from the timid kids they were to start out.”

The ISU men’s soccer club does not require its players to be involved with the community service. The players can choose to be active or inactive members. To be an active member, the student must volunteer for eight hours of service. In return for their service Dan Hunt, a junior in the club, said the team can get breaks on the dues required to play in tournaments.

Hunt, a Richmond, Va., native, said he has a lot of fun just being there for the little kids, but he does admit that the volunteering can be a lot of work, especially when there is schoolwork to be finished and grades to worry about.

“I would end up giving up my entire Sunday,” Hunt said.

“But just to know they got something out of it makes it all worthwhile.”