Some of the facilities, including F.D. Moon, are former elementary schools reconfigured to serve fifth through eighth grade. With an older age group comes a need for sports programs and on-site athletic facilities, not empty, unmarked fields.

This summer, the nonprofit organization is renovating fields at seven middle schools, all affected by consolidations across the Oklahoma City school district.

“What we get really excited about is the end result of getting kids on teams and putting coaches in their lives,” McLaughlin said. “They’ve got to get to school. They’ve got to make their grades, stay out of trouble, stay on the team. We get excited about those things.”

The concrete slab behind F.D. Moon will become a futsal pad, where athletes can play a compressed version of soccer that emphasizes footwork and ball control.

Soon, every middle school in the Oklahoma City district will have one, resulting from a Fields & Futures partnership with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Musco Lighting, 7-Eleven and the Energy Assist Foundation. The cost to install 10 of these “mini pitches” exceeds $500,000, according to a news release from the partnership.

“It doesn’t matter how big you are, how fast you are, how athletic, really,” McLaughlin told The Oklahoman. “Soccer’s the world’s largest sport. It’s also one of the biggest unifying sports there are. It doesn’t matter your color, your race, your size, your age. You can play it. So, we love that about the power of the game.”