Youth Transform Antioch Park with mini-pitch

By Cydney Thompson, Youth Programs Intern

3 min read The Nashville Youth Design Team came together and decided that they wanted to help South Nashville. After collecting data, they wanted to try helping the youth in Antioch solve their problem when it comes to a lack of teen-affiliated activities.

After collecting data, the Nashville Youth Design Team noticed that youth, specifically teens, felt like they needed more places to exercise at a park in South Nashville. When you look at most parks, you notice a playground and a trail. When you go to those parks, you don’t see many teens there, and our goal is to try to solve that. We want more teens to go to parks and have a good time too! While researching, we saw many teens play soccer at Antioch Park and wanted to give them the resources they needed to continue.

Drone view of youth playing soccer in Antioch Park during the Nashville Youth Design Team’s community soccer event

Youth spend most of their weekend playing soccer at antioch park

Community members sign up for the soccer event

During the community soccer event that was highly successful, we gave surveys to the players and audience members. After reviewing their responses, we noticed a pattern across all of them. More than 99% of survey respondents noted that they would come to the park more often if the soccer goals were permanent. 

I've lived in Antioch for 14 years, and in those 14 years, I've watched the neighborhood change and expand into a more diverse community. However, one thing that has stayed the same is Antioch Park and the people playing there. I've played in the same playground my whole life and walked the trail there numerous times. Whenever I went, I saw people using the ample green space to play soccer, volleyball, fly kites, have picnics, etc. Over time, more people have played soccer than any other sport at the park. This is an issue many people have seen but might not have had the resources to implement them. 

Change of plans

46% of respondents

said they would come back weekly for mini-pitch soccer

Another issue is the number of people coming out to use the park. This is a problem throughout South Nashville as well. Not only a lack of green space but a lack of activities within the minimal amount of parks. The park is becoming less vibrant and duller. Our original goal was to make something for the youth to come together and have fun. Our goal now is to have a community space where everyone of all ages can come and enjoy the area. When we had the soccer game, many people came to watch, record, and have a good time. We want it to be like this every weekend or, if possible, every day. 

How often would you return to play soccer if the soccer goals were permanent?

When reviewing the data, there were a few surprising answers to me. Out of all survey respondents who said they would come back after the soccer goals were permanent, 15% said they would come back daily, 46% said they would come back weekly and 23% said they would come back monthly. And only 16% of people said they would come back daily and a few times a year. 

The answers were very unexpected but also expected. I had fully expected people to say they would come out weekly, but the monthly and a few times a year amount was higher than expected. So this is the data that proves my perception of how many community members come out to Antioch park to play. 

Teens put on their jerseys to play in the soccer tournament

Antioch needs more teen activities

We wanted to set goals at Antioch Park because of the middle school across the street from the park. After talking to the principal, she noted, "Many of her students who play soccer go there to play or practice after school." Our goal was to make this a "lively community area." As I mentioned, Antioch Park used to be a very active place many people used to go. We hope to keep it that way. 

The overall goal of this is to see Antioch Park active again. Saturday used to be the busiest week at Antioch Park, but now even the community center at the park is closed on Saturdays. The NYDT wants to help not only the youth in the community but all of the community members in Antioch. We want to see the park being used by more groups of active community members. More community events within the park would help it become more community-friendly and open, which is why the NYDT hosted the community soccer game!