There are little leagues and football clubs, but no female soccer in Great Bend. A group of local volunteers help kick start one.
The new soccer club started with eight girls and now trains about 30 girls.
As a lifelong resident of Great Bend, Marisela Segura said she can’t recall seeing any soccer leagues for female players. So, with the help of a couple of volunteers, she decided to start a local club.
“I’m always asking, “Why is there no soccer here for female players? We need it locally for our girls, especially because soccer is growing rapidly,”Marisela Segura
Today, the club features three coaches Juan Rodriguez, Juan Segura, and Armando Leyva, and about 30 girls between the ages of 10 and 15, and with varying skill levels.
“Being coachable, open minded and willing to work hard, may be the most important key to every player’s success,” Segura said. “Our goal is to help prepare these girls for middle school and high school level.”
Segura is pleased with the progress.
“We are always encouraging girls to start practicing and introducing more local youth to the sport. “We had eight girls and was like, “This is something. Then, as people started seeing posts, slowly more started showing up and then word of mouth spread, and the girls started coming. That’s how these girls found the new soccer club, which is going by the name Great Bend Panthers United. All of our girls are doing very well this season and hopefully we can continue to add more players in the following years.”
