INDIANTOWN — A new nonprofit initiative in Indiantown aims to expand youth sports opportunities by bringing together local businesses, community organizations and existing athletic programs.
The Economic Council of Indiantown has launched the Youth Athletics Foundation of Indiantown, or YAFI, with a focus on improving athletic facilities and increasing access to organized sports for children in the village.
Kloee Ciuperger, CEO of the Economic Council of Indiantown, said the village already has some of the infrastructure needed to expand its youth sports offerings, but more investment is needed.
"We have incredible fields already, however they need work. We have space, we have an awesome community, lots of children, and some people are having to travel far out into Martin County and even Palm Beach County to participate. And then a lot of our community members, they don't have the resources to do that," she said.
YAFI will seek private investment from the business community to support projects identified as priorities by local officials and residents. Ciuperger said some of the immediate interest is centered on particular sports.
"We have a list of priority projects and also what the community wants. So soccer is a huge thing that a lot of the kids want. Baseball is another one," she said.
The foundation is intended to complement, rather than replace, organizations already working to provide youth sports in Indiantown. One of those groups is the Indiantown Youth Sports Association, which is developing programs focused on supporting local youth sports organizations through coach training and communication.
Ciuperger said YAFI can help connect organizations such as IYSA with businesses looking to invest in youth athletics.
"So we're all getting on the same page through that conversation and the foundation's role is really how do we get my members who are ready to go, excited to put some private dollars into this, how do we funnel that funding to support things like IYSA," she said.
The effort comes as Indiantown continues to grow, with Ciuperger saying the village needs to address the needs of both longtime residents and new families.
"We have more families moving in, but we also have the existing population that's been underserved historically. And now you've got a really active village council, you've got a new energized kind of conglomeration of the business community that's always been there, but there's a lot more organization and we also have a lot more of the infrastructure to support it," she said.
"The foundation of your entire community is your youth, it's your community, it's your family. We're like, we need to get this going. It can't just be a forgotten part of our community. This is low hanging fruit to get this off the ground for our community."
Expanding sports opportunities will also require people willing to coach and organize teams. IYSA is recruiting community members to serve as coaches, with Ciuperger saying there is already interest from people with connections to the sports and the community.
"I think the biggest thing is people want to send their children off to a organized, safe space. And you just need a group that puts that together. We got to get the community events of what's being offered out there," she said.
"There's a huge advertising, marketing, the coach training. We have really cool community members and dads and police officers and even moms wanting to be coaches. They already have a love for the game, love for the kids, so [they're] just getting them exactly what they trained up."
YAFI's mission extends beyond providing places for children to play. The foundation also plans to support coaching and educational opportunities while encouraging sportsmanship, teamwork, character development and physical activity.
Ciuperger said those lessons can extend beyond the playing field and help bring children from different parts of the community together.
"If anybody has ever played a sport, you learn so much, you learn grit, you learn discipline, you learn how to work well with others. You're active physically. I mean, that's a huge thing we need is being outside, engaging with one another," she said.
"We have a really diverse community too. So getting everybody to learn each other and who they are when they're all neighbors."
The long-term goal is to establish more teams and potentially host tournaments in Indiantown. For Ciuperger, the possibilities extend beyond the immediate expansion of local programs.
"I got a little emotional when I watched the World Cup and I was like, how freaking cool would it be if we have a kid from Indiantown that becomes an adult one day that's on an actual professional team? It started with this injection of energy and enthusiasm and into this specific thing that our community needs," she said.