FridayOct 30

Halloween Glow Night

Kids play free

Friday night pickup soccer at the Great Neck Pitch. Wear a costume if you want. As the sun sets, the balls start to glow.

Friday, October 30, 5:15 to 6:45 PM at the Great Neck Pitch, 1020 General Jackson Drive. That's earlier than a normal Friday on purpose: daylight first, glow at dusk, and everyone home before it's fully dark. Sign up on the app so we know how many kids are playing. Bring the whole family.

FreeSign up on the app for Friday pickup. Ages 3 and up, all levels. Costumes optional.
Fundraiser goal: $5,000to launch free FTP Training with experienced, background-checked coaches
$0 raised so farUpdated Sept 15

$5,000 = coaches for both fields, 8 weeks ($1,600) + equipment and loaner cleats ($1,000) + insurance for the added kids ($800) + Glow Night treat bags and glow gear ($500) + the start of a spring block.

Every gift counts toward the goal. See what a gift covers and give below.

How the night runs

Costumes, then glow.

5:15Sign in, fields open by age group like a normal Friday 6:00Sun's going down. Glow balls out, glow cones on the lines. 6:10Glow scrimmages by age group: short games, winner stays on, everyone rotates in 6:30Goodie bags and glow necklaces for every kid, then raffles and giveaways: the air pitch drawing, a glow ball for a kid in costume, donated gear, and a few surprises 6:45Everyone helps pack up while there's still light.

Give toward the goal

For the Players Foundation runs free pickup soccer so that no kid in Hampton Roads sits out because of a price tag. Volunteers run it, always have, and not one dollar has gone to pay anyone. Almost everything built so far, three fields, the netting, the goals, the cleats, has been paid for by the people closest to it.

Glow Night is that same Friday with a little more on it, and it's our first fundraiser. The goal is $5,000 to launch FTP Training: one night a week, free for kids, led by paid, experienced, background-checked coaches, many of them licensed or former high-level players, and assisted by local high school soccer players. Training costs real money and no family should be expected to cover it. If everyone chips in a little, we cover more kids, including the ones whose families can't chip in at all. Every kid at Glow Night still plays free and goes home with a goodie bag and a glow necklace, whether their family gives or not.

$50Training equipmentBalls, cones, and pinnies for the kids in training. $150One kid, fully covered for all 8 weeksCoaching, equipment, cleats if they need them, and insurance. Ninety minutes a week, at no cost to their family. $200One full night of training for every kidBoth fields, coaches and high school assistants covered. $300Loaner cleats for kids in trainingA pair for every kid who shows up without one, all block long. AnyWhatever gets us closerStarting points, not ceilings. Every gift counts toward the $5,000 goal.

At the field: adults who play pay the usual $5, or bring a pair of old cleats instead. There's a QR code and a jar at the sign-in table for anyone who wants to add to the goodie-bag fund on the spot.

Give below. Any amount. Choose at checkout whether to be listed publicly or stay anonymous, and add your business name.

Costume rules

Costumes are optional. If you wear one, a few things so everyone's safe on the field:

  • No guns, swords, or weapon props of any kind, toy or otherwise
  • No sharp objects or hard pieces that could hurt someone in a collision
  • No masks that block your view
  • The costume has to let you run: no long capes, gowns, or anything that drags or trips
  • Face paint, hats, ears, tails, and glow anything are perfect
  • Shin guards and cleats under whatever you're wearing

Need cleats? We'll bring loaner pairs. Tell us your size ahead of time on the sign-up or by email to info@fortheplayersfoundation.net so we're sure to have it with us.

Every kid in costume gets a slip in the bucket at sign-in. At 6:30 we draw one name for a glow soccer ball. No judging, no voting, everyone in costume has the same shot. And every kid leaves with a goodie bag and a glow necklace either way.

Same pickup rules as always: sign in with staff, parents stay with kids under 10, yellow wristband if you don't want photos, and if you whack it you track it. The Great Neck Pitch is private property and open for FTP-scheduled play only. Lightning is the only thing that calls it off; the on/off call is posted in the app by 4:15 PM.

Gifts toward the Glow Night goal are donations to For the Players Foundation, a Virginia 501(c)(3), and are tax-deductible. Raffle tickets and the $5 adult pickup pass are not. We post where the goal stands every Friday.

Free pickup soccer, with a glow. Costumes welcome. See you Friday.

Give toward the goal Sign up for Friday pickup
3% Cover the Fee

$5,000 launches FTP Training: 8 weeks, one night a week, free for kids, led by experienced, background-checked coaches and assisted by local high school soccer players. Every gift counts toward the goal. Every kid at Glow Night goes home with a treat bag and a glow necklace whether their family gives or not. For the Players Foundation is a Virginia 501(c)(3); gifts are tax-deductible.

Thank you!

Glow Night Fundraiser

Give toward the goal.

$5,000 launches free training for kids led by paid, experienced, background-checked coaches, many of them licensed or former high-level players, and assisted by local high school soccer players. Every gift counts, any amount.

Goal: $5,000