Coach Tom Mooers with Downieville United membersThe most popular sport in the world is back in town. Each Thursday, dozens of players take to the verdant field of Downieville School to do what kids do all over the world: play soccer.

Downieville United Soccer Club is open to all students at the school, drawing enthusiastic players ranging from kindergarten to twelfth grade. The club is new, but the tradition runs deep; relative old-timers tell tales of the traveling squad Downieville fielded that barnstormed throughout the Sierra in decades past. And even if the sport had all but disappeared from Downieville, the demand was there; more than half of the school’s students are participating in the revived squad.

With new goals, thanks to a generous donation from the Sierra County Tobacco Use Reduction Program – and grass mowed meticulously by Downieville School’s Shawn Maple, the school’s green field provides a perfect pitch for the kids to pursue their sporting dreams.

Rani, a fourth-grader, says his favorite part of soccer is “when you get to dribble and you have a ball to make a goal.” Kimberly, in third grade, appreciates the simple pleasure of “when you get to kick the ball.” And Hector, a fifth-grader, has discovered something kids the world over know: “Soccer makes me feel good.”

Head Coach Tom Mooers is joined by teachers Robin Bolle and Faith Edwards, who focus on player development of the younger ranks. Mooers likes what he sees in the squad. “It is no idle boast to say that Downieville United is the best soccer team in town. (...) And I honestly think we won’t lose a single game all year.”