NorthStar Soccer Ministries

NorthStar Soccer Ministries, formerly Neighborhood Network, Camp Northstar, Northstar Youth Ministries, and NorthStar Soccer Club is a Christian youth ministry founded in Smithfield by Paul Neville in 1996.

Originally conceived as a broad-ranging community resource, Neighborhood Network quickly began focusing on programs for youth, including scouting, recreational sports, and summer learning. In 2001 the organization took the name NorthStar Youth Ministries.

The NorthStar Soccer Club began at McLendon Park in 2002, and within a few years its popularity eclipsed the ministry's other offerings and NorthStar's higher-level teams began competing in the Central Alabama Soccer League. Val Kikkert came on board as soccer director in 2009 and more than doubled participation.

NortStar Soccer expanded to Cornerstone School in Woodlawn in 2014. In January 2016 the organization dropped its other programs and took on its present name. In 2018 NorthStar established its own Intramural League and began hosting practices at Hemphill Elementary School in Arlington-West End. Holy Rosary Soccer of Gate City joined the NorthStar Intramural League in 2019. NorthStar's travel teams compete in the Central Alabama Soccer League and the Alabama Soccer Association's US Youth Soccer-affiliated leagues.

In 2023 NorthStar partnered with Inspiritus Birmingham to provide soccer camps for children in families placed in Birmingham through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In early 2024 the organization reached an agreement with a major donor and the City of Birmingham to acquire 9 acres of vacant land near the former Dupuy Elementary School in Kingston. They proposed to develop and operate a soccer complex with one full-size youth soccer field and a range of smaller fields for younger children. Eventually they would build an office at the complex, which will be named in honor of 19th century abolitionist Frederick Douglass, whose newspaper, The North Star, inspired the ministry's name.

References

• Goodman, Joseph (July 27, 2023) "Finding refuge on a soccer field in Birmingham." AL.com
• Parker, Illyshia (February 6, 2024) "New soccer complex proposed for East Birmingham community." Birmingham Business Journal

External links

• NorthStar Soccer Ministries website