By AMANDA KENDRICK

Two Titusville Soccer Club boys’ teams now have a new practice field and a chance to help residents at an assisted living facility.

About five months ago, John Jones, who coaches the under-12 boys competition team, Shockwave, and Titusville Chief of Police, Frank Ross, who coaches the under-15 boys competition team, the Spartans, began searching for a new practice field.

They were looking for an area away from the normal, crowded middle school and public park’s fields.

"The fields that we practiced on in previous years have gotten in pretty bad shape, so we decided to find a new place to practice," said Jones "We want our competition teams to act like professionals, but how could we expect them to do so using substandard training facilities?"

As a result of their search, the coaches located an ideal practice area on Diamond Road in Titusville. The property, it turns out, is owned by A Country Place, an assisted-living facility for the elderly and the mentally and physically disabled.

After discussing the situation with facility owner Eleanor Ade, the two teams received permission to practice on the field.

In exchange for the use of the field, the two coaches reached an agreement with A Country Place’s administrator, Trudy Miller. This agreement includes team members doing volunteer work at the facility.

"It’s already great that kids play soccer and other sports rather than having idle time on their hands, said Jones. "But even more importantly, it’s great that the kids have an opportunity to help some of the less fortunate citizens of our community.’

The first of the volunteer projects took place this week, when team members painted a 14-by-14 foot Aztec sun god mural on the wall of A Country Place’s central courtyard.

Many other projects are planned for the future. The teams will be painting another mural, visiting shut-in senior citizens and serving Thanksgiving and Christmas meals at the facility. In addition, the boys will build benches to place around the field so that A Country Place residents can sit and watch the evening practices. And there are more volunteer ideas on the drawing board.

"This partnership will really benefit our residents because they like to visit with young people." said Dianna Poindexter, who works in the administrative office of A Country Place. "Watching the practices will really give them a fun thing to do, and it will keep them going."

The Shockwave and the Spartans still are in need of community support and are seeking donations of equipment and business and individual sponsorships.

"Our kids, coaches and parents are dedicated to giving something back to the community" said team manager Fred Mastin.

"I like the idea of actually helping others in our community. Whether we like it or not, many of the folks in this facility have been forgotten by their families and lead lonely lives. I feel certain that once the businesses and interested parties in Titusville find out about the good deeds these kids are performing, the funding for the extras that all competition teams need will take care of itself."

For more information about this partnership or to be a community sponsor, call Jones at 269-3688 or Ross at 267-2145.