With the registration deadline for youth sports with the Rec Center come and gone, David Dickey, the youth sports coordinator for Troy’s Rec Center said he was eager to get the season going.

“We started the last week of September last year,” Dickey said. “We might start a little sooner than that. We would definitely be trying to start by Sept. 22, but they’re going to start practicing next week. If we can start before then, we’ll do that.”

The Rec Center’s youth sports teams can see anywhere from 400 to 500 children participating, Dickey said.

“We are still doing numbers right now,” Dickey said. “We did registration through Sunday. I haven’t transferred everything over to active files, but usually around 300 in soccer and 150 in football, so we’re somewhere 450 to 500 kids playing soccer and football.”

With so many children active in youth sports, Dickey said it was a good way for them to not only learn about a new sport and meet new friends, but to learn fundamental life lessons.

“It gives them the opportunity to meet new kids, make new friends, learn about the sport because some of them have never played soccer or flag football,” Dickey said. “You can always learn life lessons, ‘it isn’t going to be easy, you have to work hard.’ Those are some of the things we hope they get from sports, but biggest thing is we hope that they have fun.”

During this season, Dickey said the Rec Center would have flag football, tackle football and soccer, and even the parents are expected to have some fun throughout the season.

“Soccer here in Troy is one big family picnic,” Dickey said. “Everyone is out here, having a good time. It’s like one big family. They come out here and enjoy watching their kids play.”

The coaches for the youth league sports are volunteer, and Dickey said the Rec Center usually sees a few repeat faces helping coach teams.

“A lot of good coaches that step up and help out,” Dickey said. “The thing about it is some of the coaches we have in football and soccer are the ones that help out at baseball and basketball too, so we kind of see them year round.”

Dickey said he would begin the team-picking process at the start of next week and hoped to have teams practicing by the night of Thursday, Aug. 28.