Grant Beach Sports League will celebrate a milestone this fall when parents and players gather for the 10th season of Grant Beach soccer.
The sports league was formed to fill the need for a low-cost, instructional league for families in north Springfield. It expanded to include families from all over Springfield and Willard, as well as other outlying communities. The organizers are all volunteers within the Grant Beach Neighborhood Association. The coaches are parent volunteers. Only the referees and umpires are paid a nominal fee for their time and skill. There are families that have been involved from the beginning. One of those families is the Bursons.
David Burson has been a key part of the Grant Beach Sports League since the beginning. First, he was a parent who brought his kids to play. Then he decided to coach.
David grew up on Chicago’s South Side. Football was his primary sport. He also played volleyball, softball, basketball and even bowling. After a short stint at Liberty University on a football scholarship, David went back to Chicago where he married and worked. While on a mission trip to Solid Rock Church, he visited Springfield. He and his wife then decided to come to Springfield so David could attend Central Bible College. Right before the move they discovered their first child, Darlene, was on the way. Then two years later came twin boys followed by one more son two years after that. David worked at UPS and the Stalnaker Unit of the Boys and Girls Club from the time it opened in 2003.
In 2008, as the father of four young children ages 6, 4, and 2, David was always on the lookout for low cost family activities. He began taking the kids to area vacation Bible schools during the summer and was a regular at the library.
He thinks that is where he saw a flier for Grant Beach soccer in the fall of 2008. He signed up his oldest three kids even though the twins were too young. He heard back from a coach for Darlene. At the first game not all of the players showed up. The coach asked if the twins would play, and so they got their first taste of soccer at age 4 and loved it.
David doesn’t recall the name of the coach but from that point on, all three kids played on the team. They came back for baseball the next summer and soccer in the fall of 2009. It wasn’t until Darlene was in third grade that David volunteered to coach. He has done so consistently for both soccer and baseball ever since. All four kids played until they aged out.
David recalls watching Richard Napieralski, who coached Darlene in second grade, and considers him a mentor. He learned to work with not only his players, but their parents and families as well. David earned a reputation as one of the most sought-after coaches in the league. Families requested him so the same kids played together for several years. Some of his teams were so dominating that it was hard to remember these kids had grown up playing Grant Beach soccer rather than in a competitive league. Now all five of the Bursons can be found on the field coaching or refereeing.
If you have coached or played Grant Beach soccer over the last 10 years or know someone who was, please send your contact information to gbnanewsletter@gmail.com. Keep an eye on the Grant Beach Sports Facebook page or GBNA Grant Beach Facebook group for more information on the 10-year celebration. As always, soccer registration will begin shortly after school starts in August. A $10 registration fee will provide six weeks of fun and a T-shirt. If you are interested in coaching, we are always looking for those too. Contact Yolanda Taylor at 417-952-5735.
Finally, a great big thank you to the many partners who have made this possible. The Springfield-Greene County Park Board for their blessing and support, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame for their financial support, various community sponsors, all of the neighborhood volunteers who organize the coaches and players, the concession volunteers who make sure there is 25-cent popcorn at every game, Triad Graphics who have kept our costs low on T-shirts and all of the coaches, refs, parents and players who have made these 10 years happen!