For the first time in 10 years, hundreds of Beyond Soccer players were left without a place to participate in indoor futsal & fitness in the winter of 2018, and we vowed never to let that happen again. In 2019, we acted and leased 9,000 sq. ft. of indoor space at the former Malden Mills, our planned “Sports & Wellness Center” or “Lawrence Sports HUB” (HUB), with a growth potential of 70,000 ft2.

Pre-COVID, through initial friend ‘raising efforts, plus in-kind equipment, that space included a beautiful, multi-purpose playing surface with dashers, custom netting, and professional sports lines to accommodate futsal, basketball, and volleyball. As our first official pilot program, we launched an evening pickup futsal league in July 2019 at the HUB for 65 middle school youth, run entirely by our youth jobs cohort. In winter 2019, hundreds of kids played in partnership with Essex County Youth Futsal, which included players from other communities. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we had to close the space, which means our beautiful futsal court is in storage, waiting for a new location to build connections and get more kids to adopt healthy, active lifestyles! In the meantime, in the summer of 2021, we brought back futsal in a more street-soccer, pickup-style way. It’s fun and fast-paced, and we hope your child can join us this summer! See details above and below. Now we have run 4 very busy off-season futsal programs, and each season participation grows!