Tony Blackburn has the ball rolling for an archdiocese-wide adult soccer tournament and he’s eager to see where it takes the parishes of Baltimore.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore’s coordinator of youth sports and ministry partnerships has been gauging interest in the idea for a tournament that pits parish against parish on the pitch.
The tournament idea came to life after Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., and the Office of Hispanic Ministry suggested it to the archdiocese’s Institute for Evangelization.
“Sports is a great vehicle for evangelization,” said Blackburn, a former athletic director at Bel Air High School and baseball coach at Joppatowne and C.M. Wright high schools. “We see it through our youth sports with the parents out there on the sidelines supporting their kids. This would be a great way to involve the adults.”
The tournament will be played sometime in May with plans to possibly include music and food trucks, creating a multicultural festival atmosphere. The site and game formats will depend largely on how many parishes register teams and the number of parishioners who want to participate.
Blackburn said about eight parishes have expressed interest. He said he plans to finalize some details on the scope of the tournament near the end of February.
“So far, we’ve received nothing but positive feedback,” Blackburn said. “It should be a great opportunity for good fellowship through a shared interest in soccer.”
The tournament will be open to players 18 and older. Parishes and the archdiocese will set the guidelines for who is eligible for each team.
Parishes interested in participating should have a representative fill out one of the following forms:
English Version: https://forms.gle/HiitugtKT5XkB2U89
Spanish Version: https://forms.gle/HjMPa595tWzcrCbG9
Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org
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