The U.S. Soccer Foundation, along with the Rockwell Fund, the Northeast Houston Redevelopment Council, and the Houston Independent School District, unveiled a new soccer mini-pitch on the Kashmere campus.
The grand reveal drew school partners, students, and the school’s band and cheer team. The opening comes less than five weeks before Houston hosts its first FIFA World Cup 2026 match at NRG Stadium on June 14.
A mini-pitch is a smaller, hard-court soccer field equipped with goals and nets, designed for students to refine their soccer skills. While not regulation-size, it provides a quicker gameplay experience in a safe environment on school campuses. Designed to fit into tight urban spaces where full-size fields are not practical, mini-pitches are built for both organized programming and informal pick-up play.
It is one of approximately 900 mini-pitches the U.S. Soccer Foundation has installed in under-resourced communities nationwide as part of a national push to build 1,000 by the end of 2026.
Brandon Dickerson, in his fifth year as Kashmere’s principal, said the facility represents more than just a place to play soccer. It is a deliberate statement about who belongs on this campus.
“What this does is encourage our Hispanic students on campus to let it be known that we care for them just the same as our Black students,” Dickerson said. “We are 50-50. We want to make certain that the other half of our school community is valued, that they have a space to be heard, seen, and valued.”
Dickerson also sees the facility as part of a longer recruiting pipeline, envisioning students from Kashmere’s feeder elementary and middle schools visiting campus, connecting with older students, and imagining a future at the high school.
“If they want to dream about being around the future, this will give them opportunities to meet some students in a non-threatening kind of way,” he said. “This will become a valuable resource for our students.”
Huey German Wilson, one of the founding directors and president of the Northeast Houston Redevelopment Council (NHRC), said plans about the mini-pitch began as recently as November and December of 2025. The speed of the project matters to Wilson, who has spent years watching large-scale events and investments bypass Northeast Houston communities.
“We find that we don’t have enough park space or green space in our communities,” Wilson said. “To have a mini-pitch for our kids and our families is amazing for us because, again, we don’t have enough of any of these things.”
Wilson said that while events like the World Cup often generate excitement citywide, neighborhoods like Kashmere Gardens and Trinity Gardens rarely see that energy translated into tangible resources.
“We find that we don’t have enough park space or green space in our communities. To have a mini-pitch for our kids and our families is amazing for us because, again, we don’t have enough of any of these things.”
Huey German Wilson
“It’s rare that we get something on the front end of opportunities like this,” she said. “Usually it’s an afterthought. This is beautiful and very well thought out and planned for.”
She hopes the World Cup’s presence in Houston creates opportunities for international players to visit Northeast Houston communities. The Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash have made outreach visits to the area before, and Wilson envisions a similar connection with global stars who will be in the city this summer.
“Our kids are playing soccer every day, somewhere,” Wilson said. “We hope they come over and play soccer with them, or watch them, or give them pointers while they’re in town.”
One of those kids is Steven Westmoreland, a 9th-grade Kashmere soccer player who has been competing since he was 6. Standing near the newly opened mini-pitch, Westmoreland said the occasion felt significant.
“This is an honor to have this right here for us,” Westmoreland said. “There are some schools nowadays that can barely afford new books, new classrooms. And right here, this is an honor to have.”
Westmoreland said seeing the mini-pitch open just as the World Cup draws near felt like two dreams arriving at once. He said the Houston Dynamo had already encouraged him and his teammates, telling the players that professional opportunities were within reach, contingent on staying in school and working hard.
“That’s a whole dream come true,” Westmoreland said of the World Cup. “Seeing Messi play, Ronaldo play, seeing all those good players play. Because at the end of the day, if I work hard enough, I know I’m going to make it.”
