Erie County youths can attend free sports clinics through this new program

Each time Erie Sports Center has done something like this before, turnout has exceeded expectations.

So, owner Troy Bingham decided it was time to expand.

The center is set to welcome 2,000 Erie County youths to its Summit Township campus this summer as part of its “Sport For All” initiative. Registrants will choose three sports from a list of nine and attend free clinics for each.

“Erie has a super high refugee population and one of the poorest zip codes in the country, yet a history of great athletes,” said Troy Bingham, owner of Erie Sports Center. “For me, it’s a case of saying, how do we tap into that? How do we get kids playing sports again without the financial hurdle?”

Discover your new favorite sport

Erie County children ages 3-12 can choose from three of the following sports: Soccer, lacrosse, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, softball, baseball, football, pickleball and tumbling/cheer. Registration opened Thursday, and once it closes March 31, camps will be scheduled April-August.

Clinics will be held across either three one-hour sessions or two 1.5-hour sessions and will be led by coaches from Erie Sports Center’s club sports teams. Cost is free through the Declan Bingham Scholarship Fund.

“The objective is to see whether we can spark something in those kids,” Troy Bingham said. “I would have never tried lacrosse before because I don’t have $3,000, but I went to a free lacrosse clinic where everything was provided, and I really enjoyed it. Now, how can I become involved in the game?”

Bingham said the center has already helped roughly 1,000 local children play sports for little or no cost. Its partnership with Erie’s Multicultural Community Investment Coalition (MCIC) has more than 50 inner city kids playing travel sports for free, including two on scholarship at SPIRE Institute in Ohio.

Refugees on full rides: How Erie Sports Center plans to create opportunity through sport

Gary Horton of the United Erie Community Development Corporation, part of MCIC, called the partnership a “blessing in disguise” for neighborhoods that have experienced changing economic conditions in recent years. These communities, he said, have mostly single-parent households and youths make up more than 50% of their population.

“It’s a smart investment that counters the disinvestment that has been taking place in my neighborhood – the bank, pharmacy, elementary school, bakery closing and moving out, and what you get back are marijuana manufacturing shops, smoke shops and gaming machines in every corner store,” Horton said. “When I look at the partnership’s impact on the youth in my neighborhood, it is phenomenal. When we focus on 3-12 years old, it’s going to be a longer-term investment toward the quality of youth we are able to produce in our neighborhood.”

Education, athletics, social skills

MCIC’s partnership with Erie Sports Center goes beyond athletics. Nine children received full scholarships to Erie Prep Academy through nomination from MCIC leaders.

“It provided some very worthy families who could not afford choice anywhere an opportunity to exercise choice,” Horton said. “To receive a scholarship they could never otherwise pay for, it is a significant investment not just in those youths, but in their families, many of which have from four to eight or nine siblings.”

More: Will a sports academy bring Erie worldwide recognition? Sports Center owner believes so

Erie Prep Academy, which opened in August, has nearly 50 students for its inaugural school year. Bingham said the school’s goals for year two include 40 boys and 20 girls in its soccer academy program, a second post-grad basketball team and a high school boys basketball team that will compete in the PIAA.

If registration for “Sport For All” exceeds 2,000, Bingham said, he’ll adjust. He’s done that before, such as when a soccer program designed for 50 kids received 420 sign-ups.

Once athletes are in-house, sports center staff can identify which have potential, then provide them proper support and opportunities. Three beacons guide their programs – education, athletics and social skills.

“Everything we’ve done in the past two years has been trial and error,” Bingham said. “There is such a demand from families and parents for their kids to be engaged in sports, but cost is an inhibitor for so many people.”

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Contact Jeff Uveino at juveino@timesnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @realjuveino.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Sports Center to offer free sports clinics through new initiative