Soccer Shots Ready to Host Clinic in St. Peters

Jamie Cody loves soccer—so much so that, along with his wife Nicole, he opened a Soccer Shots of Greater St. Charles  franchise in Cottleville two years ago.

“Soccer is his passion,” Nicole said of her husband. “He grew up living and breathing it—he loved the sport. He wanted to stay connected to the sport in any way possible.”

Jamie’s passion, combined with the couple having three kids, led them to Soccer Shots.

"Soccer Shots is a national franchise and our goal is to bring soccer to kids,” Nicole Cody said.

At Soccer Shots Jamie and a team of coaches teach young kids, ages 2 to 8, about soccer. The very young simply get to run around and get some exercise. With the older kids, more skills are taught.

“What we really try and do is have classes in a non-competitive environment,” Nichole said. “Fun, silly, goofy, high-energy, lots of activity—that sort of thing.”

Jamie and other coaches go around to childcare classes and pre-schools in the St. Charles County area to work with kids. Kids not in the schools also take the 30- to 40-minutes lessons at the facility in Cottleville.

“Each session there we have curriculum that’s based on the age,” Nicole said. “Two-year-olds have their own, 3-to-5 have their own. … The 6- to-8-year-olds, their curriculum is more based on skills and fundamentals. It’s a little bit more advanced. For the younger kids, it’s more about being active.”

A trademark of a Soccer Shots class is the fact no kid leaves without accomplishing something.

“In every class, everyone scores a goal,” Nicole said. “Each child that’s in the class, they cheer on the kid who scored the goal. We really try and emphasize that, even for the kids that don’t have as much confidence or skill, it’s still their turn to score a goal and we’re going to cheer. That’s a really fun part of it.”

On occasion, Soccer Shots runs a clinch—such as the . From 9:30 a.m. to noon a team of coaches will be working with kids at the  in St. Peters. 

“We will run our normal class, but with a special curriculum for the day,” Nicole said.

One thing that will make the clinic different from a normal class is that parents can attend and watch the kids play.

“Most of the parents don’t get a chance to see our kids in classes because they happen when they are at work,” Nicole said. “… For a parent that hasn’t seen their child play, when they get to see their child score a goal, it’s just really special.”

The cost of the event is free, but donations are encouraged. Donations will go to a national Soccer Shots fund to build an all-weather soccer field in an under-privileged area.

"What we’re doing is we’re participating in a national clinic day,” Nicole said. “The majority of Soccer Shots all across the country are holding clinics that weekend. The goal is raise money for Soccer Shots Global Goals, which is our charitable foundation. What we do with Global Goals is, we partner with non-profits and we use soccer to change or make a positive impact in a certain way.”

Registration is encouraged for the event and can be done online.