Algonquin Sports for Kids

In 2005, Algonquin Studios, Inc., along with Buffalo Niagara Soccer (now Buffalo United Soccer) developed and ran eight soccer clinics over a four week period. The clinics were held at the Johnny B. Wiley sports complex on Best Street (the geographical midpoint of the City of Buffalo) during the months of July and August. The goal of the clinics was to gauge the level of interest in a sport with little or no presence in the central and eastern portions of the city. Expectations were that a few dozen children would show up. By the end of the eighth session, more than 150 children between the ages of 4 and 12 had participated and hopeful seeds were sown to begin the long term development of a strategy to bring this sport and all of its benefits to a targeted group of children.

Historically, youth sports programs have developed successfully in the Western New York market when there is a presence of a strong volunteer network and sufficient amounts of money to provide the basic needs of the organization. As the towns of Amherst, Clarence, Tonawanda and Hamburg have shown, this usually happens in first-ring suburbs where parent commitment and income are readily and more easily available. Over 40,000 children participate in youth soccer programs in WNY but virtually none of those children live on the East or Lower West Sides of Buffalo.

This is partially due to the fact that soccer is not a core community activity, where football and basketball have long been the staple youth sports programs. And while those programs have, in fact, led to the development of a few long-tenured organizations designed to provide volunteer support and financing to those activities, unfortunately, participation is limited and geared mostly to boys.

The soccer clinics revealed that the children and families in the City had a significant interest in soccer but also highlighted problems that needed time to understand and resolve. Programs in first-ring suburbs are successful because of the presence of volunteers, mostly parents, to effectively run the programs but the City of Buffalo program had sparse parent participation. In suburban programs parents, coaches, and referees maintain fields and provide transportation and many of those programs have paid staff positions allowing at least one individual dedicated to the administrative needs of the organization. Of course, this requires a dedicated source of revenue that is hard to develop in an already struggling community.

So, following the successes and struggles of the 2005 program, the principals at Algonquin Studios, Inc. decided to pursue a dedicated approach to the development of youth sports programs in the City of Buffalo-a 501c3, not-for-profit organization called Algonquin Sports, Inc. (Algonquin Sports for Kids).

The position of Executive Director of Algonquin Sports for Kids was immediately offered to Tom Garigen, the Director of Coaching for the largest premier soccer club in WNY. Tom has a proven track record of developing and administering youth soccer programs and his acceptance of the position was a tremendous initial win for the program. Tom began researching existing programs around the country and developed the blueprint for the first programs offered by the organization under the Buffalo Soccer Club (BSC) banner.

The Algonquin Sports, Inc. Board of Directors consists of Stephen Kiernan (CEO, Algonquin Studios, Inc.), L. Nathan Hare (CEO/Executive Director, Community Action Organization of Erie County), Peter Amos (Head Coach, Rochester Rhino’s Woman’s Professional Team) and Daniel Suhr (CPA, Szymkowiak & Associates).

Algonquin Sports for Kids is constantly researching and developing sources of funding for Buffalo Soccer Club programming. Algonquin Studios, Inc. currently supports the Algonquin Sports Executive Director and Buffalo Soccer Club Program Director positions from within the company and Algonquin Sports, Inc. pursues grant money from regional and national soccer organizations, local business and government leaders and foundations. All programs are priced at “break even” costs with hardship requests, a predictable occurrence in our outreach, approved in every possible instance.