Spring into the Baldwin Eagles Soccer Club season

The Baldwin Eagles Soccer Club launched its intramural spring season on April 6 — poised to nurture the talents of its future soccer stars while emphasizing development and education in a fun, inclusive environment.

The soccer club, a non-profit enhancing individual skills, fitness levels and sportsmanship, is dedicated to supporting young players’ physical, mental and emotional growth while promoting the expansion of soccer within the community. The club is also home to a travel team.

Bob Gandley, the club’s treasurer and vice president for more than two decades, diligently oversees registration and is responsible for assembling the teams for the children. Bob Walter serves as the club’s president.

The intramural team consists of children in pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade in Baldwin and surrounding communities such as Freeport and Oceanside.

They play a rotating schedule of games against each other, with the boys’ and girls’ teams playing separately.

After three decades of playing on the field at Lenox Elementary School in Baldwin, the club now gathers every Saturday morning at Baldwin Harbor Park for its club activities because it allows for more space and avoids any conflicts with Baldwin School District teams.

Registration for the spring intramural team season began in February, with a fee of $120 per participant. Gandley took the lead in promoting the club through social media.

“Right after Covid, we were very nervous because the way we used to get the word out had changed,” Gandley said. “We used to send out flyers to the schools, which they no longer do, so we had to revamp how we do it through social media.

After a yearlong pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the organization resumed operations in 2021, kicking off the year during the spring season.

During its re-launch, membership initially stood at 110 children, gradually increasing to reach the pre-pandemic norm of 135 children.

Roughly 100 children were pre-registered for the spring program this season.

Gandley described registration as “OK,” only days before the soccer club played its first game, adding that in prior years, depending on the weather, parents would register their children right before the game.

Speaking after the first game, Gandley shared that 10 additional members registered on Saturday.

Kurt Billouin, vice president of the intramural program whose two children were active soccer club players, has chosen to remain with the club, even though his kids have moved on.

Hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, Billouin’s background is in semi-professional soccer, and he now seeks to spread his passion for the sport to young children, teaching them the intricacies and volunteering his time to give back to the community.

“I had experience playing semi-professionally, and now I have the chance to impart my knowledge to the kids,” Billouin said.

Working behind the scenes and seeing familiar faces return to sign up year after year fills Gandley with a sense of pride as he prepares for startup each season.

“It makes me feel great,” he said. “It’s rewarding to give back.”

For further details regarding the spring season and availability of spots, parents can contact eagles11510@gmail.com.