KANNAPOLIS - Kannapolis City Schools will introduce soccer to 3- and 4-year-old children at risk of becoming overweight.

It’s part of a program piloted by the system’s child nutrition department to provide an exercise component to the Head Start program.

“The goal is not weight loss,” said Ann Treanor, child nutrition director for Kannapolis City Schools. “It’s teaching them the importance of exercise and that it can be fun.”

Treanor said having young children understand the importance of exercise and having a healthy diet could lead to health habits to last a lifetime.

The Kannapolis Head Start program has 26 children at risk of becoming overweight, Treanor said.

With parent permission, they’ll begin working with Soccer Shots, a Huntersville-based company that promotes soccer to children ages 3 to 10. Soccer Shots will work with Head Start students 30 to 40 minutes each week for 10 weeks beginning Jan. 7.

“Children today are already developing adult diseases like diabetes and we’ve got to do something in the school system to address that issue,” she said.

Jon Beyerle, director of Soccer Shots, can attest to the benefits of learning soccer at a young age.

He began playing when he was 6 years old and continued through his days attending Messiah College in Grantham, Penn.

One of Beyerle’s college teammates founded Soccer Shots in Pennsylvania and recruited him to open a franchise serving the Greater Charlotte area, including Cabarrus, Gaston and Iredell counties.

Kannapolis City Schools will be the first school system Beyerle has contracted with. He works primarily with area daycares, such as Concord Community Childcare, Dixon Academy at NorthEast and Kids Korner.

Treanor discovered Soccer Shots through her son’s preschool, Primrose School of Afton Village.

She had unintentionally missed the sign-ups for her son to participate in the 10-week program, prompting quite the guilt trip.

“My son comes home one day and says you didn’t sign me up, mommy,” Treanor said. “Mommy, I can’t do that because you didn’t sign me up.”

What impressed Treanor most about the program was that it encompasses not just soccer, but also agility, balance and coordination. Beyerle said each session consists of forward, backward and side-to-side cardio movement. 

The program is also big on letting children use their imaginations.

“We’re not dribbling around cones,” Beyerle said. “We’re going around volcanoes. We really try to bring it down to their level.”

• Contact Justin Vick: 704-789-9138