Kennett community rallies to reinstate KHS soccer program

KENNETT – There is a buzz going around town of a certain sport in Kennett, and it's not a sport seen at the high school level in more than a decade.

It's not the multiple championship-winning baseball, softball, or girls tennis team. What many parents, teachers and community members want to see is high school soccer as a part of the KHS athletics curriculum once again.

Soccer was a proud sport at Kennett for over ten years, beginning just before the millennium until around 2010. Hundreds of student-athletes competed against teams from around the region, and some stood out enough to be given the opportunity to compete in college.

Though Kennett resident Billy Palmer was offered that chance but chose to instead play baseball in college, he's never given up his love for soccer. Now, he's at the forefront of the latest push to reinstate the program.

“My kids have loved playing in the Kiwanis league growing up,” Palmer said. “Now, my oldest is going into high school next year, and it's been talked about for years. There weren't as many pieces in play as we have right now, but I just want to be able to look at my kids and say I did everything I could to make this a reality.”

Kennett's Kiwanis Youth Soccer program is a league for children aged 4-14. With a 2022 turnout of 293 players, Palmer has become “a major part” of the program, as well as Kennett's co-ed travel soccer league. He was a member of the first, original KHS soccer team, and he has set the groundwork for its reinstatement.

Palmer addressed members of the Kennett Board of Education in March to get the ball rolling. Since then, he's compiled an extensive list of names of students ranging from current high school students to third graders, many of whom he has personally coached, to gauge interest in the sport.

He's also drafted perhaps the most important aspect of the endeavor – an achievable budget. According to the mockup, reinstating high school soccer would cost roughly $12,000 in the first year, but Kiwanis has agreed to sponsor the team with $6,000 per school year, guaranteed for the first five years.

With several caveats, including playing all away games for the first year to eliminate referee costs and personally being the unpaid assistant coach, Palmer estimates that there is a way forward that would cost the school district just $720 to get the program started.

“There is support for it and the school board, I think, is open to it,” Palmer said. “Presenting them with a budget that is very neutral to costs to the school will also go a long way. Being a business owner and being in the real world, people present you with problems all the time. What I want to do is present solutions.”

Two Kennett High School teachers have also declared that they would be interested in leading the way to coach the team, which Palmer said was “a valid concern” in the past.

He will address the Board again at the May 16th meeting, which he hopes will be put to a vote and decide the future of the program.

“I would like for everyone to be positive about it,” Palmer said. “The school board members work hard, and I know that they've had their reasons in the past. They want what is best for the kids, too. If you know any of the board members, call them and let them know there is support out there because these kids deserve a chance to keep playing.”

If reinstated, Kennett would possibly face many familiar rivals like Poplar Bluff, Sikeston, Cape Central, Notre Dame, Jackson and Saxony Lutheran, who all have soccer programs.

Another Kennett resident and Kiwanis league coach, Crystal Hrissikos, has been “rallying the troops” to show the board that there is a demand within the community.

“So many parents have been trying to get this sport back, and nothing has happened in the last ten years or so,” Hrissikos said. “I'm hoping that we can show the board how many people want this. There is another demographic of students who are missing out, and this could be a scholarship opportunity for another group of athletes.”

Alongside her husband, Bobby Hrissikos, she sponsors the Grecian Kiwanis team each year. As their two daughters grow up and eventually age out of Kiwanis, she hopes that they, along with every other student, has the opportunity to play a sport that they are passionate about.

She noted that, largely, soccer would pull in a different kind of athlete and isn't likely to take away from existing sports. She also recognized the fact that it is a much less cost-prohibitive sport for new athletes to get involved in.

“I'm hoping with the growing popularity of soccer, how much the turnout is in Kiwanis soccer, that obviously there is passion and dedication there,” Hrissikos said. “There is a love for the sport within the community. I hope we can bring it back and show to everyone how much talent is in this little, small town. I want these kids to be able to shine.”