In the face of Vetta Sports’ stronghold on St. Louis County families, TOCA Soccer is setting itself up as St. Louis City kids’ answer to indoor winter sports. The official soccer training partner of MLS acquired The Futball Club facility at 4900 Manchester in June 2024. Heading into its inaugural winter season, general manger of the new TOCA St. Louis center, Nick Nelson, shared more about the facility’s class and league plans, as well as his hopes for TOCA’s place in St. Louis’ soccer scene.
What opportunities do you think TOCA has in the youth soccer space in St. Louis?
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I’m originally from Scotland, but I’ve been in St. Louis now for eight years. I was actually one of the first employees of the original Futball Club. So I’m well aware of the stronghold that exists out in the County for soccer. We’re really looking to challenge that and bring more kids from the City and have an inclusive experience.
What programs does TOCA offer?
The flagship of our product lines is our TOCA training, which is essentially a one-to-one technology-boosted training session where kids can come and hone all the major skills associated with any soccer game. That [program was developed by] Eddie Lewis, TOCA founder. He played for the U.S. men’s national team. So it’s a lot of working on honing their first touch, passing, shooting, all that stuff.
The kids’ classes, [meanwhile], are in a group setting and for people who are just starting out their journey in the sport, for ages 1 to 13. Kids can learn everything from the fundamentals to balance to coordination, and then obviously the social skills associated with that group setting as well.
And then for our league/pickup model, people can get a membership and play pickup here during the week. We extend this to all adults and even older teenagers. Or, people can play on a league team. We also have birthday parties and field rentals for non-competitive play.
What does TOCA hope to bring to St. Louis’ youngest soccer players?
One of TOCA’s main ideologies is that everybody plays. The idea is to be an accessible point for kids in the City to come and try out soccer, whether it’s for the first time or to use us as a vehicle to really progress their soccer career forward. And also a place to come have fun and enjoy the sport. Yeah,
What do you think is so significant about learning to play soccer in St. Louis specifically?
People say it all the time, but it really is a soccer city with deep history. If you’re learning to play soccer in St. Louis, you’re really becoming a part of one of the oldest soccer communities in the U.S.
What are the opportunities for kids this winter?
We have a youth league starting on December 1 for 2019- to 2014-born kids, and potentially even 2012 depending on interest. We also have our TOCA training, specializing one-to-one training using our technology. And then also this winter, we have kids’ classes running where kids are looking to just to be introduced to the sport; that’s an avenue for new kids to join us.
What is your hope for the future of TOCA in St. Louis?
We run membership models because we like to know everyone that comes into our center. We just want to become a living, breathing part of the St. Louis soccer community.
