Video: Pre-K Soccer Program Has Almost 50 Players Its First Year

They were used to sitting on the sidelines, watching their older brothers and sisters play soccer, waiting for their chance to be old enough to join them on the field.

Now, 3-to-5-year-olds in Cleveland Heights and surrounding cities don’t have to be older to participate. Sean Sullivan, owner and director of Heights United Soccer Academy and head coach for the men’s varsity soccer team at , has started a program this year for the age group. 

To his surprise, 45 parents signed up for the program. Parents and their children met at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings at  or at the if it was raining or the fields were too wet to play on.

“We’re starting from square one — we teach them how to run properly, how to position their bodies, how to move side to side … you have to start with the basics for them,” said Sullivan, elementary school science specialist for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District and an alumni of Noble, Monticello and Heights High. “The parents are on the field with the kids.”

Cleveland Heights Patch checked out the program April 30. Watch our highlights from the day above. 

For more information about the cub program and how to get involved in other soccer programs in the area, visit The Heights United Soccer Academy site and the Eastside Kickers site.