Duncan Macintosh and Soccer World

It is three years since Duncan Macintosh resigned from the Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise and as this morning's guest speaker he was welcomed back as an old friend. He said he was going to do his classification talk again but update it to include his ownership of Soccer World. The Soccer World dome on Frid Street in Hamilton was built in 2002 and costs around $2 million. It is held up by air generated by large fans. Duncan sleeps with his cell phone because if the fans shut down because of a power failure or other mechanical issue he has 8 minutes to fix it before it starts to settle onto the light standards.

Duncan started into soccer as a volunteer when his daughter began playing as a child. Ten years later he coached her team competitively and later became a member of the Dundas Soccer Club executive and is presently in charge of assigning referees. The Dundas area has 50% fewer fields than other Hamilton areas and Duncan was instrumental in helping convert baseball diamonds in Veterans Park to soccer pitches. The installation of lights on a number of fields also increased capacity.

At one time Duncan considered buying property on the escarpment by Highway 5 to build three soccer fields but that was nixed by the Niagara Conservation Authority because it would have taken farmland out of production. So, he did the next natural thing. He purchased Soccer World.

Soccer World is a busy place from Thanksgiving to Easter and is full most evenings. There are 140 men's teams as well as a variety of youth programs. He says the 17 - 24 year old men's teams are often ethnically based and lead to a number of interesting confrontations that police are sometimes called to calm.

Duncan started a developmental program for youth called Little Strikers. This is a U.S. franchise with paid coaches and a structured curriculum. He is particularly fond of the "Wake Up Fred" game they play with 3-year olds to encourage them to kick the ball against the side boards. He also started up summer camps and PA Day excursions and supports inner city students to play league soccer. He even supplies the children with bus tickets so that they can travel to the Frid Street location. The Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise contributed towards the purchase of bus tickets last year.

Members of the club were pleased to see Duncan and encourage him to continue working with youth to involve them in soccer and its social, health and physical components.