U.S. Soccer Foundation, Musco Lighting, Energy Assist Foundation And 7-Eleven Partner with Fields & Futures to Create 10 New Mini-Pitches in Support of Oklahoma City Public Schools’ Pathway to Greatness Initiative

The U.S. Soccer Foundation and Musco Lighting, a global leader in sports lighting, have partnered with Energy Assist Foundation and 7-Eleven to announce the creation of 10 mini-pitches with Fields & Futures in Oklahoma City. These new mini-pitches will support efforts to help Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) grow sports participation across the district and promote physical activity for its students, as part of the district’s Pathway to Greatness initiative. The monetary value of this project well exceeds a half million dollars.

Says Fields & Futures co-founder Tim McLaughlin, “From inception, Fields & Futures has relied on the generosity of donors and partners to help fulfill our goal of rebuilding and maintaining athletic facilities at all OKCPS middle and high schools, in order to give Oklahoma City students the opportunity to play on quality athletic fields and outdoor play spaces. As part of the OKCPS Pathway Greatness initiative, we are excited to help transform six elementary schools to middle schools and bring quality outdoor athletic facilities to that many more neighborhoods and school communities. We appreciate the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Musco and our local partners for helping provide OKCPS kids a resource they would likely not have otherwise.”

McLaughlin, who is also co-owner of OKC Energy FC and a strong advocate for making soccer a more accessible sport for all children added, “With existing futsal courts at Taft and Roosevelt Middle School, these 10 new courts will ensure more OKCPS middle school students have access to this fast-growing sport.”

OKCPS Superintendent Dr. Sean McDaniel added, “We are excited to welcome the U.S. Soccer Foundation and Musco Lighting to our growing circle of OKCPS partners, and appreciate all Fields & Futures does to keep that circle growing. We look forward to our continued relationship with Energy Assist Foundation and are excited to see 7-Eleven and other new resource partners step in to help provide OKCPS students the opportunities they deserve. We expect these courts to stay very busy!”

Says U.S. Soccer Foundation President & CEO Ed Foster-Simeon, “One of the biggest barriers to our sport is the lack of safe places to play. These 10 new mini-pitches at Oklahoma City Public Schools will dramatically increase opportunities to play the game. This means more children will not only enjoy soccer, but also develop critical life skills that come with playing the game.”

“We strongly believe in the Fields & Futures mission of helping Oklahoma City Public Schools empower students with fitness, confidence, and teamwork skills through participation in soccer,” said Jeff Rogers, Vice President of Musco. “We designed these mini-pitches to simplify the construction and installation process so that the kids can get out there playing, and along with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the team at Fields & Futures has been an outstanding partner in this endeavor.”

Energy Assist Foundation Executive Director Mickey Dollens said, “Aligning with the U.S. Soccer Foundation to support their national Safe Places to Play initiative is a driving force behind the creation of our foundation. With support from 7-Eleven, we are excited to help Fields & Futures and OKCPS bring these 10 new futsal courts to our community, and on behalf of OKC Energy FC coaches, players and club leadership, we look forward to seeing OKCPS students enjoy these courts long into the future.”

Added Jim Brown, CEO of 7-Eleven, “We’re just grateful for the opportunity to provide support to Fields & Futures through a partnership with Energy Assist Foundation. Their focus is on serving the community that supports our stores. It’s a great fit.”

When not being used by each respective school, these courts will be available for community use, subject to availability and school approvals.

Follow @FieldsFutures and @EnergyAssist_ for information regarding a community-wide court opening and celebration in Fall 2019.

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For more information, please contact:

U.S. Soccer Foundation | ussoccerfoundation.org | @ussoccerfndn
Jennifer Arnold, jarnold@ussoccerfoundation.org
202-872-6662

Musco Lighting | musco.com | @muscolighting
Eduardo Zamarripa, eduardo.zamarripa@musco.com
641-676-2652

Fields & Futures | fieldsandfutures.org | @fieldsfutures
Dot Rhyne, dot@fieldsandfutures.org
405-605-9550

Energy Assist Foundation | energyfc.com/energyassist | @energyassist_
Mickey Dollens, mickey@okcenergyassist.com
405-898-7578

Oklahoma City Public Schools | okcps.org | @okcpublicschools (FB), @okcps (Twitter)
Beth Harrison, baharrison@okcps.org
405-625-5258