Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Thieves, vandals vexing vision for soccer program

By RITA FARLOW
Published January 7, 2007

Claud Effiom has visions for the Southside Youth Soccer League.

Effiom wants to bring competitive youth soccer to south St. Petersburg. League plans include a remodeled building with meeting and classrooms for club clinics and referee training seminars.

But a rash of burglaries and vandalism at the league's concession stand at Lakewood Sports Complex, 2001 Country Club Drive S, is delaying his work.

Effiom discovered the latest incident Wednesday, when practices resumed after the holidays. Not only did the thieves force the new lock off the building's back door, they cut the power at the breaker, causing the freezer to go out. "It ruined everything they did not take," Effiom said.

This is the seventh or eighth time the vandals have struck in the past five months, he said. In one incident, the culprits stuck a garden hose into a drain pipe that runs from inside the building to outside, then turned on the water and left it running. Three feet of standing water ruined supplies and waterlogged cabinets, causing them to be replaced.

Food, drinks and candy have been stolen. Two stolen goalposts cost $1,200 to replace.

"We can't even leave them outside (now). We have to store them every weekend. We can't use them during the week for practice. It's not just the economic loss. They're ruining the program when we can't even have goals," Effiom said.

The financial setback has sad implications, Effiom said. Money spent to repair and replace damaged or stolen items is money taken away from kids who need scholarships, and from much-needed facility improvements.

"It's really demeaning when you put in so much time and effort, to have somebody come in to destroy all that," said concessions manager Janet Cartolano.

So far, no arrests have been made, Effiom said, but he suspects the culprits may be some disruptive adults who congregate at the field. Effiom said he has asked them to leave several times. "We have a group of adults who come there and smoke weed, drink beer, throw beer bottles," he said.

Cartolano surmised it may be two groups of people. The goal posts would have required a truck to move, pointing to adults. But the candy thefts and vandalism to the concessions seems to be the work of bored kids, Cartolano said.

The league serves about 450 kids ages 5 to 19 and offers low registration fees to encourage underprivileged kids to try the sport, Effiom said.

"I am not discouraged, because I see the possibility of improving the program," he said.

Cartolano agreed. "We're just going to shake it off and go forward," she said.

[Last modified January 7, 2007, 02:29:59]