What Soccer Does

Time for part 4 of our 'What Soccer Does' series! Meet Alex Bard , our Senior Director of Safe Places to Play. Alex leads the charge in installing mini-pitches across the nation (along with two amazing teammates) and has recently reached the incredible milestone of 700 pitches. Though the beautiful game was not his main sport growing up, soccer has still found a way to inspire him to reach new heights both personally and professionally. Read below as we uncover Alex's story and his dedication to creating safe spaces where kids can both play and thrive.

Q: What is your favorite part about working at the U.S. Soccer Foundation?

?A: My favorite part is the people. Not just our amazing team, who are smart, ambitious, driven and fun to be around – but also the people we get to work with around the country. From coach-mentors to strategic partners to friends and supporters, I get to interact with great people everyday, learn from them and ideally continue to grow our impact together.

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Q: How does soccer inspire you (either personally or professionally)?

A: I was never a good soccer player growing up, but I always loved team sports and I even picked up soccer again as an adult. The ability to be part of a team, challenge yourself and lose yourself in sport is an amazing feeling. So, I am always inspired by kids in our program who try the sport for the first time, join a team and keep at it! And one of my favorite things is seeing how soccer can be played anywhere – school yards and parks and parking lots, all you need is a ball.

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Q: As the Senior Director of Safe Places to Play, what has been the most impactful project you’ve worked on?

?A: I’ve had the privilege of working on 700 mini-pitch projects across the country, so it's hard to just pick one! If I need to choose, I’ll go with the West Side High School mini-pitches in Newark, NJ. This was the first project that we did in partnership with the Black Players for Change, and we cut the ribbon in October 2020 – the tail end of a very, very tough year. Along with partners from adidas, Musco Lighting and the New York Red Bulls, I got to witness a group of high school students meet with professional players and have open and honest conversations about their goals, their challenges, what they love about soccer and simply sharing about themselves and their families. It was an amazing event itself, and that mini-pitch project sparked a larger collaboration with the Black Players for Change and Black Women’s Player Collective to install 25 additional pitches nationwide over the next 4 years.

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Q: What’s the biggest impact your program has on children in underserved communities?

?A: The Safe Places to Play program allows children to play the game of soccer in a state-of-the-art play space where they can be physically and emotionally safe and thrive in an atmosphere created just for them. For too long, the majority of soccer fields in underserved communities were either private or rented out to those who could afford paying the costly hourly fees. By bringing soccer pitches to these communities in partnership with local schools or parks, we’re allowing a whole new group of children to experience their own “home field” to hone their skills and make lifelong memories with friends.

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Q: What brings you the most joy outside of work??

?A: My family, especially my 18-month old son, Simon. And as a distant runner up, a sunny round of golf and a great plate of pasta!

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We hope that you've been enjoying our "What Soccer Does" series so far! Stay tuned for more entries and learn more about our #SafePlacesToPlay mini-pitches here: https://bit.ly/4bb4ziT