Posted Wednesday, November 2, 2016 12:24 pm

Two new mini-pitches were unveiled at Barrett Park on Oct. 13, to the delight of many young Valley Stream soccer players.

“It’s amazing,” said Alyssa Illiano, 11. “I’ve played here for four years on the soccer field, but this was a lot of fun. It’s really cool.”

The new playing surfaces were built and funded by a partnership between the New York Red Bulls, the U.S. Soccer Foundation and BJ's Wholesale Club.

Each 7,200-square-foot field is made of acrylic. They will mostly be used for training and practice by the Valley Stream Soccer Club, which has more than 1,200 members ages 4-19. The mini-pitches are also open to the public, and light fixtures will be installed for nighttime play.

“A safe place for kids to play is just invaluable,” said VSSC President Timmy Graham. “No matter what community it is. The fact that these kids have these brand new courts to play on is beautiful.”

About 50 players attended the opening to play on the surfaces for the first time. Red Bulls players served as honorary coaches and referees for the scrimmages. The mini-pitches were well-received.

“It’s very cool,” said Allie Kim, 11, “because it was just a basketball court and changed into something awesome. It’s really fun.”

The fields were built where seldom-used basketball courts once stood in Barrett Park, according to Mayor Ed Fare. He said the village has ordered four portable hoops that would be added to the adjacent paddleball courts to accommodate basketball players. Talks of building the pitches have been in the works for more than a year.

The surfaces are mostly meant for futsal, which is a version of soccer that uses a weighted ball so it doesn’t bounce too much on the material. According to Jerome Viviona, the regional manager for the Red Bulls training program, futsal improves play, is a high-scoring game and enhances the speed of the matches.

Maintenance on the fields, which were installed by Verbank, NY-based MetroGrass, will be done by the village on a regular basis to fix cracks and repair paint lines.

“I’ve been a teacher in Valley Stream here for over 30 years,” Fare said. “This is a great way to get kids out from behind the TV and out from behind the video game, and come out here in the field to have some good, old fashioned exercise and fresh air. These mini-pitch spaces are gonna go a long way to providing that healthy outlet for a long time.”