Recreational youth soccer league begins soon

MOSES LAKE — Youth soccer players will have another opportunity to take the field this fall, with the Moses Lake-based Universe Soccer Academy preparing for its fall soccer league. 

The league, which will field players aged 10-14, begins play Sept. 5. 

“It’s completely recreational — it's just for kids to get out there and play soccer,” said Max Luna, one of the academy’s founders and coaches. 

Universe Soccer Academy was founded in May 2023, with Luna citing a personal connection to beginning the organization; his eldest child had aged out of other local youth soccer programs, and he wanted to help fill the gap for players from 10 to 14 years old. 

“There only other option was to do a club where you pay and travel a lot, and that’s just not an option for us,” Luna said. “We wanted to continue a type of program that would be like parks and rec, but for a little bit older kids.” 

The academy has put on spring and fall leagues over its 15 months of operation and a camp during the summer. Both leagues are organized similarly, with two practices a week leading up to a weekly game on Saturdays. Players are broken up between teams of 10-13 and play 4-5 games in a season. The previous fall league and spring league saw about 50 players register, though Luna said he expects that number to tick up to 60 players this fall. 

“There’s always difficulties, but we try to learn as we go,” Luna said. “We try to encourage everyone that this is recreational. We want all the kids to have a great experience when they come.” 

This year’s summer camp was held on four Saturdays in June, with players broken up into age groups of 6-8 years old, 9-10 years old and 11-14 years old to work on dribbling, passing and shooting, as well as learning some of the basics of the game. 

“We just try to teach basic soccer principles to the kids,” Luna said. “The main goal is to get the kids out there to kick the ball around and learn about soccer. To get comfortable with it.” 

Information about registering for the Universe Soccer Academy can be found at https://bit.ly/3yCMQTY, or the academy’s Facebook page at https://bit.ly/4crQP3s. The cost of registering for the fall league is $55. 

“For the amount that we do, we’re not making any money, really,” Luna said. “It’s not about the money — it's about the program for the kids and to help grow the sport in the community.” 

    Launched in May 2023, Universe Soccer Academy has hosted spring and fall leagues for youth soccer players aged 10-14 and a summer camp open to players aged 6-14.