New Lenox Soccer Association Opens New Pavilion

NEW LENOX, IL — New Lenox Soccer Association is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and part of the year-long celebration included a ribbon cutting Wednesday to officially open its new pavilion at Spencer Trail School, 1701 S. Spencer Road in New Lenox.

On hand to take part in the festivities was New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann, who, along with 7-year-old Ainsley Becker and NLSA Board President Mike Plesek, had the honor of cutting the ribbon.

“New Lenox, obviously, is a wonderful community. And it’s wonderful because everyone does come together, pull together," Baldermann said. "This is something that’s been in the works for years, where you’ve got schools and parks and recreation all coming together for the betterment of the kids. And so we’re really proud to see this program grow over 40 years and add this beautiful pavilion to the town.”

NLSA Board Vice President Dion Calandriello echoed the sentiments of the mayor.

“Without the New Lenox community, this wouldn’t happen," Calandriello said. "The coordination with the [New Lenox Community] Park District, the school district, the New Lenox Soccer Association — all of us working together, that’s the only way this gets done.”

The new pavilion was just one of the improvements to the Spencer Trail School campus, according to Tim Christ, recreational division coordinator for NLSA. Other upgrades to the facility included fencing around the fields, a storage shed for equipment and improvements to the fields. Plans for further improvements include lightning detection devices and upgrades to the lighting around the fields, Christ said.

“It’s great that we can give back to the community. We do this for our organization, but it’s obviously part of [New Lenox School District 122]," Plesek said. "The schools get to use it for their gym classes and other functions when we’re not here. So, anything we can do for the New Lenox community is great.”

The pandemic significantly impacted NLSA last year, so the organization wanted this year to be something special for its participants.

“There was a lot of excitement when we were back," Calandriello said. "Not only were we back but it’s also our 40th year, so we figured we wanted to make it a ‘wow’ year. So we did a whole bunch of stuff; we had a picnic in the spring and we have a big trophy celebration coming up at the end of this season. So, we’re making 2021 a big deal. As big a deal as we can considering everything.”

NLSA has about 400 children participating in its recreational program, according to Calandriello; about 250 additional children participate in the Legacy Soccer Club, which consists of a traveling team that competes against teams from other towns.

Those numbers are similar to the ones NLSA had when it started in 1981, according to NLSA Board Treasurer H. Richard Hagen, which shows that the organization remains just as popular today as it did when it started 40 years ago.

In fact, children who started out playing with NLSA have continued playing as they got older.

“It’s nice to see those kids who started out in our rec program go on to play in college and continue on in adulthood," Hagen said. "It’s fun. It’s very satisfying and rewarding for us. It’s why we do volunteer work.”

For more information on NLSA, visit its website.

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