Soccer moms are great, but Tucker soccer dad Bryant Mackey is giving them a run for their money as the fall recreational league soccer season forms teams.
Not only did Mackey play soccer from his childhood through college, he’s also bringing his four kids through the ranks of one of the state’s biggest soccer programs, the Tucker Youth Soccer Association (TYSA), and serving as its vice president of recreation and Under-6 age group commissioner.
The fields are leased from DeKalb County parks and recreation to the club, which Mackey said must maintain the sod, line the fields and even pay the light bills for the facilities they use at and Patillo Park.
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“We do it with our own sweat and money,” Mackey said. “A lot of work goes into maintaining the high-quality facilities we have.”
Mackey, in addition to getting his kids to their own games, stays busy with nearly 250 U-6 players, divided into 40 teams. Every year, he recruits 40 coaches to provide the needed leadership. Overall, TYSA will enroll about 1,200 players per season in the program, he said.
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“You have to want to have fun with a group of kids. It’s a pure joy to be on the field,” Mackey said. “We’ve had neighbors, cousins, high school students who’ve coached students before. But typically for the U-6s, it’s the parents. There’s always something going on, even if we’re not directly involved in a season."
Mackey said TYSA draws players not only from Tucker but also from Sagamore, Oak Grove, Stone Mountain, Smokerise, Briarlake and parts of Gwinnett.
"If you drew probably a 4-mile circle around Henderson Park, that’s our base. We also reach out to the elementary schools and try to provide an after-school program,” he said.
It’s a commitment. Weekly practices start Sept. 12 for the coed U-6 teams; twice weekly practices have already begin for the U-8 and older groups, which are separated by gender. The fall season will end the second week in November, depending on rainouts.
“The big event for our club is the weekend before Thanksgiving, the Triumph Cup, when we’ll have more than 250 teams from all over Georgia and the Southeast come and play,” Mackey said.
Next season will begin at the end of February or beginning of March. TYSA plays both fall and spring seasons, as well as spring break and summer camps, and employs several paid coaches on staff.
