SC
Youth Soccer President's Workshop |
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Past
Presidents Honored at Workshop
Founded in 1977, this year marks the thirtieth
anniversary of SC Youth Soccer. In the relative scheme
of the sport, soccer in South Carolina is a new game,
with little record of the game prior to the 20th Century.
While it’s a debatable question how the very first soccer
ball landed in South Carolina, there’s no doubt that the
fair state was late in the world to adopt the beautiful
game.
History of the Sport
It’s thought that the game has been played since the 2nd
century when China played a game called Cuju. However,
due to the simple nature of the sport, it’s not surprising
that the American Indians along the Massachusetts coast
were seen by Pilgrims playing a form of soccer. The Indians
called it “Pasuckquakkohwog," which means "they
gather to play football."
The United States Hall of Fame, located
in Oneonta, New York, suggests that the real thrust of
the modern game as we know it came from numerous emigrants
arriving on the shores of the United States during the
late 1800s. The earliest recorded game occurred between
Rutgers University and Princeton November 6, 1876 in New
Brunswick, NJ. In 1885 the US and Canada played a game
against each other, representing the first “international”
soccer game to take place outside of the Britics Isles.
However, it wasn’t until 1913 that the U.S. was granted
provisional membership by FIFA. However, soccer remained
primarily a “Yankee sport” until the 1970s when soccer
began infiltrating the younger ranks of players.
Soccer in South Carolina
The forefathers of SC Youth Soccer are still
around today to tell the story (and the struggle) around
bringing soccer to the Palmetto State. On hand at the
2007 SC Youth Soccer President’s Workshop was the surviving
past Presidents of our organization, each with historical
perspectives on where SC Youth Soccer came from and the
wonderful experiences they had along the way in building
up soccer.
Updated 29-AUG-2007
