Recent wet weather has had a major impact on many youth soccer clubs and teams in southwestern Pennsylvania.
In Beaver County, heavy rains twice flooded the entire Hopewell Soccer Club soccer facility.
Umpire Ed Rathman said the water has caused “many hours of additional work” for volunteers working to clean up the field in preparation for the resumption of practice and games.
Channel 11 caught up with Avonworth Soccer Association President Dan Mulligan while he was at the Ohio Township soccer field Wednesday.
Allegheny County teams also have their schedules affected.
Mulligan had stopped by to check on the situation in the field.
“It seems to be OK now, but it's been raining and it's been tough,” he said. “We've had to cancel just about everything so far, and it's been going on for almost a month now.”
They were able to practice Tuesday and hope to continue playing.
“We have multiple locations, many township parks, county parks and school district fields,” said Otto Tancleter, president of the North Allegheny Soccer Club. “They have all been hit equally hard and the last few weeks have been extremely difficult.”
Tanclater said some games could have been played on the grass field at North Park instead.
Mulligan said players were also able to compete by renting indoor facilities.
All of our club volunteers and leaders work hard to get our players on the field.
“We go out there every day and look at, 'Is the field in good condition today, or is it going to cause long-term damage to the field?' Is it a safety concern for the kids? We're out there every day trying to make the best decisions possible with the information we have that day,” Tankrater said.
download Free WPXI News App For breaking news alerts.
Follow news on Channel 11 Facebook and twitter. | Watch WPXI now
