Street soccer has taken over the state house, Keach Park and many other places around Concord. Chris Pinkham and Spencer Nowe are giving their Samba soccer brand a permanent home in Bow.
The space near Dunklee Road is still being built and will be large enough to permanently host all of their training needs. It will be exclusively Samba’s own.
Samba X Player Development aims to instill confidence and creativity in players on the ball. They do this through small-group training that gives players more touches on the ball and specialized individual training.
It will take some time before the 10,000-square-foot space is ready. They still need to lay down turf and make it look just right. It will be large enough for seven-on-seven and six-on-six play.
The two expect sometime this summer to be perfect for the launch. It will be exclusively their own but they hope to open it up once a week for free play to all.
It has always been their dream and their goal. They launched the Samba X Player Development brand two years ago to raise the level of New Hampshire players.
Pinkham and Nowe remembered what it was like shoveling the snow in his yard to kick a ball around in the winter. They want to give kids a better opportunity.
“We always wanted a space of our own so we can do whatever, whenever we want, have a space that’s accessible, whenever for whoever,” Pinkham said.
The Samba brand grew and grew as they hosted events around the region and more kids joined. Pinkham and Nowe officially announced a new training facility and the launch of a non-profit, Samba Street.
They’ll also open it up for free soccer and as a place for the community. Their goal, with both the space and the non-profit, is to lower barriers to entry.
The non-profit, on the other hand, will help them continue running free street soccer events, providing scholarships and supporting their soccer community-building.
“I want the kids to want to be there, not just to train but to like call home,” Nowe said.
