The pEople with the energy all around
The Trojan Youth Soccer League (TYSL) is a 501(c)3 soccer league associated with the University of Southern California. The league currently serves male and female elementary school students (Ages 5-12) from the area surrounding USC. The young athletes are broken up into three divisions: Minis (5 to 6),Youth (7-9) and Advanced Youth (10-12). Each team in the league is managed by two undergraduate students from USC who have been selected and trained as coaches.
Letter from Our founderWhen several university students were fatally shot around USC in 2013, metal security gates were put in place to enclose the entire campus, and guards stood watch on every street corner. I recall standing on the USC grounds and looking past a campus guard to a local elementary school, wondering how the children playing outside felt. Did they see me as someone belonging to a foreign campus culture and society? Did they feel vulnerable to the violence that had afflicted USC students? I felt that if we could unite our diverse South Central Los Angeles landscape, we would not only create safer streets for USC students and elementary school children alike, but build valuable relationships, neighbor to neighbor.
With this goal in mind, I founded the Trojan Youth Soccer League in January of 2013, and the program has since grown with impressive vigor. The combined drive and positive energy of passionate TYSL staff, welcoming Hoover Recreation Center administrators, generous donors like Cal South, strong partners like USC Athletics, dedicated parents, and enthusiastic participants has snowballed with incredible momentum. Each season, the league has expanded, as new high-energy individuals join us out on the field. I have been honored to spend several of my undergraduate years engaged in initiating, establishing, and transitioning the league to new leadership. When three young USC students - myself, Jonathan Miu, and Evan Pye - sat around a dorm room table with wild dreams of a soccer program for kids, we had no idea what was in store. Now, the reality of the Trojan Youth Soccer League fills me with excitement - a slurry of colorful jersey-clad youngsters huddled around their energetic coaches on game day, a parent proudly providing a basket of grapes and apples for a team of hungry athletes, a line of USC Women’s Soccer players cheering on the side of the game field and high-fiving every child who ran in to trade places with a team-mate. When I think about the league, I could not be more proud of the community that we have become. I do not see one group of people giving “charity” to another - there is no “us” and “them.” Instead, I see every individual, whether they be a player, board member, coach, city employee, supporter, or parent, bringing their own gift and optimism to the table. We are one community, we are one family, and we are unstoppable! Energy, energy, all around - Go TYSL! - Hadley Hadley Greswold, BS Health Promotion and Disease Prevention 2015 |
History of the leagueJanuary 2013
Hadley Greswold founded the Trojan Youth Soccer League alongside Vice President Jonathan Miu and Head Coach Evan Pye. The members established a relationship with M’Liss Causey at the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks Hoover Recreation Center, and built connections with local elementary schools including John Mack, Weemes Elementary, and 32nd Street Elementary. The Trojan Youth Soccer League received generous support from Cal South Board President John Mullen, who then connected TYSL with the awesome Cal South Foundation President David De Leon. August 2013
Hadley Greswold, Jonathan Miu, and Evan Pye worked to recruit the first groups of USC student coaches and community participants. On September 24, 2013, 80 players and 16 coaches kicked off the inaugural season at the Hoover Recreation Center. A Trojan Youth Soccer League and USC Athletics partnership was established through Community Outreach Director Matt Ackles and USC Women’s Soccer Head Coach Ali Khosroshahin, bringing 32 USC Women’s Soccer Players to Trojan Youth Soccer League practices and games. October 2013
Jocelyn Eng, Giovanni Moujaes, and Courtney Rosselli, all first season TYSL coaches, joined the TYSL Executive Board as Director of Operations, Director of Public Relations and Marketing, and Director of Events. November 7, 2013
Hadley Greswold, Jonathan Miu, Giovanni Moujaes, Jocelyn Eng, and Courtney Rosselli attended the 2013 So Cal Soccer Symposium, where Hadley, Jonathan, and Giovanni spoke about the Trojan Youth Soccer League model and its first season’s success. February 2014
TYSL kicked off its second season, this time with 99 players joining the program and 24 USC student staff members volunteering as Executive Board members, coaches, and referees. May 2014
Through incredible sponsorship by Cal South, Hadley Greswold, Jocelyn Eng, and Courtney Rosselli traveled to Washington D.C. to speak at the 2014 Urban Soccer Symposium and give a workshop to demonstrate the potential of university-student lead soccer programs for children. September 2014
Hadley Greswold and Evan Pye transitioned leadership of the Trojan Youth Soccer League over to new President Jocelyn Eng, Vice President Giovanni Moujaes, Head Coach Marco Indrio, Internal Events Coordinator Isha Rahman, Director of Marketing Hannah Vega, Director of Finance Chris Funaki, and Director of Membership Affairs Pablo Pozas. September 2014
TYSL kicks off its third season! |