INDIANTOWN, Fla. — A new nonprofit launched by the Economic Council of Indiantown will seek private local business investment to support youth athletics and recreation in the community.
The Youth Athletics Foundation of Indiantown was announced at a Thursday night meeting of the Economic Council of Indiantown. The organization aims to raise money from local businesses to fund new and existing youth sports programs, as well as upgrades to aging facilities.
WATCH BELOW: New nonprofit aims to fund youth sports programs
At Big Mound Park in Indiantown, Deborah Resos, Director of Parks and Recreation for Indiantown, pointed to some of the challenges facing local fields.
"It's an 80-yard field, so it's not an official-sized football field," Resos said. "We need 100 yards for it to be an official-sized field."
Beyond field dimensions, Resos described the broader condition of facilities, including rusted fences and compacted turf.
"Our fields are safe to play on, but they're old, and they're compacted," Resos said.
Scott Watson, who has worked with youth sports in Indiantown for decades, said current programming falls short of what the community needs.
"We do have some things going on, but not to the magnitude or not to the quality that we need," Watson said.
Watson said sports like football require significant financial support to operate properly.
"To keep that going, we need all new equipment, the organization, the insurance, the standard operating procedures, everything that we need to put in place," Watson said.
With the 800-acre Terra Lago community under construction and more families expected to move to Indiantown, Watson said the demand for space will only grow.
"We need more fields. We're actually absolutely going to need more fields and better quality stuff as time goes on," Watson said.
Watson said reaching young people early is at the heart of the effort.
"You have to capture the hearts and minds of kids before they're 15 years old," Watson said.
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