Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer's Grassroots Manager JT Dorsey was among the presenters at the US Youth Soccer Grassroots Symposium in St. Paul, Minn. last weekend.

Dorsey's interactive workshop was titled "Engaging State Associations and Leveraging Soccer Specific Funding to Grow the Game" and touched on many of the grassroots efforts Dorsey has helped spearhead in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Some recent examples include working with Philadelphia-based youth clubs Atlas Lions, West Philadelphia Soccer Academy and Salone FC to host three summer soccer festivals. The events were featured in the fall issue of Touchline and were supported by Eastern PA Youth Soccer's Innovate to Grow grant from US Soccer. 

More information on Grow the Game initiatives can be found on our website. 

The focus of the Grassroots Symposium was to "convene stakeholders across the board to connect traditional soccer programs and community-based organizations, providing resources on how to amplify partnerships, build relationships and create club communities where all young people can thrive."

Some 200 attendees from organizations across the country attended.

“Sport is a great platform to help influence change in all communities, and with the right narrative can attract the resources needed to support such initiatives,” said USYS Director of Sport Development Tom Condone in a news article for the USYS website. “The USYS Grassroots Symposium played a large role in raising awareness through the collective conversations surrounding the game to build capacity.”

Photo Credit: US Youth Soccer