One of the first presidents of the now-defunct Tri-County Soccer League plans to start his own youth league this fall.

Harold DeCelle, who led Tri-County from the early 1980s and into the 1990s, is the president of the new Stars and Stripes Soccer League, which will make its debut next month. The league is currently taking registrations for recreation players ages 3-and-older.

DeCelle of Elkin said he aims for Stars and Stripes to take over the area that used to be covered by the parent-run Tri-County Soccer League, which dissolved after the spring season. Sign-ups will continue until Aug. 31. Practice starts in late August (after school is back in session), with games beginning in early September.

"We've been working on (the Stars and Stripes league) for more than a year," DeCelle said. "This is all volunteer, and there are several of us.

"We're hoping for 250-plus kids. Our goal is to eventually reach 1,000 because we're in a really big area."

There could be strong competition for local players. The Town of Elkin also announced earlier this summer that it is starting a youth soccer league for ages 3-14.

Yadkin County already has its own soccer league, while Dobson is the hub for Surry County's Parks and Recreation league.

Elkin Valley Baptist Church, which operates Upward basketball and flag football programs in the winter and fall, respectively, plans to start an Upward soccer league in spring 2009.

Stars and Stripes organizers plan to build their teams around local schools. For instance, kids in the Ronda-Clingman area would be on a team together, while kids from Elkin or Mountain Park would be on different teams.

"These are not school teams but we are using the schools' geographic area to form teams," DeCelle said. "That should keep the traveling down so more kids can play ... The schools are not involved with the league but have agreed to let the league use their fields."

Stars and Stripes will play under the umbrella of the N.C. Youth Soccer Association. The new local league aims to add teams in the classic and challenge divisions by spring. Those divisions are more competitive, sometimes with travel involved for games and tournaments. Stars and Stripes got full NCYSA approval in June, DeCelle said.

"We're going to offer a whole array of different levels of soccer," he said. "Right now there are several players who go to Winston or Lake Norman to play. You've got to have it all to give opportunities for all the kids."

According to DeCelle, other members on the Stars and Stripes board include Heidi Settle (vice president), Joshua Luffman (vice president, recreation), Melissa Baker (vice president, classic), Amber Hutcherson (secretary), Julie Caldwell (treasurer), Wren Royal (field coordinator), David Whitman (referees) and Joe McCulloch (coach of directors). McCulloch is Elkin High School's girls and boys varsity soccer coach.

DeCelle said plans for an indoor winter league also are in the works.

For more information on the Stars and Stripes Soccer League, contact DeCelle at 835-1394.

The cost to register for the fall season of Stars and Stripes is $35 for the first chid in the same immediate family, $25 for the second child and $20 for each additional child.