A new business coming to eastern Idaho wants to teach life skills through soccer
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IDAHO FALLS — A business coming to Idaho Falls aims to foster early childhood development through the game of soccer.
KidsUnited, located at 380 South Woodruff Avenue, will open on Sept. 18. It’s near Big Deal Outlet and Kids Zone. It’s a year-round indoor soccer facility that offers classes.
“They come in and they learn soccer skills, but they’re also learning life skills, team building, and focus,” said Amanda Dipo, the general manager.
The age groups include children as young as 18 months to nine years old.
“For one-and-a-half-year-olds, they’re going to be learning about body parts, colors, and numbers, and as they get older, they are going to graduate to harder things,” Dipo said.
There’s a foundation program, which is a parent and me class for children aged 1.5 to 3.5. There’s a fundamental program for ages 3.5 to 9 and an advanced program, which is for ages 4.5 to 9. Each class is broken up into specific categories that fit best for the child. Click here to learn more.
Franchise owner Jim Jackson said he’s looking forward to opening the business. He wanted to do something that helped the community.
“It’s a fun business that’s really good for the kids’ development, and soccer is an exciting way to do that. There are very few sports that 18 month olds can play, and soccer is kind of one of them,” Jackson said. “It’s a good way to start developing motor skills and life skills at a young age using sports.”
Each class will have two coaches. The coaches go through corporate training and get certified. They have background checks done as well. Coaches provide parents with regular feedback on their child’s progress. The classes are 45 minutes long.
“One neat thing about their curriculum is that those who are going through the program will never have a duplicated class,” Jackson added.
According to its website, “KidsUnited programs are very unique. Our facility features a climate-controlled, padded-turf indoor field – so classes run on schedule every week, all year round. Class sizes are kept small, so every child gets real coaching attention every session.”
As part of the pre-launch phase of KidsUnited, Dipo and Jackson said they are offering sign-ups on the website for a free trial class when they open the doors for business.
“People can come and then they can try out the club with their kids and decide if it’s something that they are interested in,” Jackson said. “We want to make sure it’s a good fit for all the people who want to do it.”
Click here if you are interested in the free trial class. If you have questions, you can email KidsUnited at idahofalls@kidsunited.com. The business will be open seven days a week to accommodate families.
“We’re playing soccer, we’re getting the kids socialized, they’re having fun, and they’re learning and developing,” Dipo said.
“Whether people are interested in soccer or other sports, it’s a really good way for kids who are small to develop coordination and teamwork skills that don’t just work for soccer but for all sports,” Jackson added.
KidsUnited has multiple locations across the United States, including places like Utah, Colorado, Florida, Arizona, California, New Jersey and more.
