When one of the top administrative positions with the Arkansas Valley Soccer Association (AVSA) came open this summer, University of the Ozarks Women's Soccer Coach Bryan Drotar saw a perfect opportunity to help promote youth soccer in the area and to give back to the community.
Bryan Drotar, Lady Eagles soccer coach, will serve registrar and director of coaching for the Arkansas Valley Soccer Association.
Drotar, who is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Lady Eagles’ program, will serve as registrar and director of coaching for the AVSA, which is based in Russellville. A big part of Drotar’s responsibilities will be to oversee the registration process for around 700 children, ages 4 through 16.
It’s going to be quite an undertaking," Drotar said. "They have a great association, one of the top ones in the region, and I saw this is a great opportunity to help raise the level of youth soccer in the River Valley. It’s also a way to give back to the community and to the sport of soccer, which has been so good to me over the years."
In addition to coordinating the registration process, Drotar will be in charge of training the youth coaches, many of whom have little or no experience coaching or playing soccer.
"My main goal is to help these coaches any way I can," he said. "We want to help teach them how to make it fun for the kids and also how to get most of their players. We want to help teach them the drills, practices and methods that work best."
The opportunity to work with children just learning the sport was also appealing. "Children those ages get so enthusiastic and excited when they run out on the field," he said. "There’s nothing better than watching young players and to see their enthusiasm to learn the game and improve."
Mark Frost, who served as director of registration for the AVSA for the past four years, said the association was fortunate to get Drotar involved in its program.
"I’ve known Bryan for two years and he’s an excellent coach," Frost said. "U of O has a gem of a coach and being able to get him is monumental."
Drotar believes he can not only help improve and promote youth soccer in the region, but that he can help raise the awareness of the university as well as its soccer program to hundreds of youth in the area. The positive impact has already begun as Drotar was featured in a front-page article of The Courier newspaper in Russellville earlier this month.
"I think it will be great visibility for the university," he said. "We’re talking almost 700 children and their parents in the Russellville area who will get a positive introduction to Ozarks. You never really know what the direct impact will be in regards to recruiting down the road, but it can only help."
Topics: Community Service