Special jersey pre-sale period ends on April 6

As someone who grew up playing soccer, Max McKersie valued public parks.

When McKersie realized that there weren’t many accessible urban areas to play sports, he started the Arlington Boys & Girls Club Court Initiative, a project that will give the community a newly renovated court for basketball and futsal, a smaller, fast-paced version of soccer.

The court will open to the public May 17. It had not been updated since the 1980s, according to the initiative website.

The $70,000 project is funded by foundations run by professional soccer player Miles Robinson and professional basketball player Pat Connaughton, both of whom are Arlington natives.

The project included a workshop last month with Design FC, a nonprofit brand that supports youth, that allowed kids to design soccer and basketball jerseys. The jerseys are available on the initiative website for $53.

Indoor court to get upgrade

All funds from the sale of these jerseys will go to the 2027 renovation of an indoor court at the Boys & Girls Club, which is estimated to cost over $200,000. The art on the jersey will be incorporated in a mural by artist Megan Barnes as part of the court.

McKersie said he believes people tend to rally behind projects that are reflections of them and their own childhoods. “It’s great to see people show that they care about their background and where they came from, and they’re willing to give back,” McKersie said.

Mironko Productions and Kirch Films are making a documentary about the court with a focus on the theme “access to play.”

“The big message is that through the documentary, these spaces don’t just create great athletes, like Pat and Miles,” McKersie said. “They create storytellers, artists, teachers, coaches.”

Derek Curran, executive director of the Arlington Boys & Girls Club, said the basketball/futsal court will be the first of its kind in Arlington and that the renovated court will be safer.

“The current court has some cracks in it, as courts do when they’re almost 40 years old,” Curran said. “So, all those cracks will be filled.”

Curran said that he appreciates Robinson and Connaughton for giving back to their community by funding this initiative through the Miles of Change Foundation and the Pat Connaughton Foundation. Attempts to speak with Robinson, who plays for the FC Cincinnati soccer team, and Connaughton, a guard for the Charlotte Hornets NBA team, were unsuccessful.

“There’s tons of soccer players, there’s tons of basketball players, there’s tons of kids that we have walking in this building every day that will benefit from this project,” Curran said.

Norman Capital Investments is a sponsor for the initiative, helping to cover the expenses for things like the jerseys and the documentary.

“We’re recreating a space for kids from all backgrounds and all situations, where they can grow, thrive and and also have a place where they can make good decisions,” said Norman Kilavatitu, the investment company’s founder.

Kilavatitu said this project is personal for him as someone from a single-parent home who relied on spaces like the Boys & Girls Club. “Being able to give back to clubs like this and give back to communities is really, really important for all the kids who are in the same situation as me,” Kilavatitu said.

Places like the Boys & Girls Club and sports courts are great for both kids and families.

“It shows how crucial having spaces like the Boys & Girls Club and these courts are to the community,” McKersie said.