Soccer was introduced to Indiana in 1976 via an elementary school survey, which ranked kickball number one on the list and soccer a distant seventh. The Indiana Area Recreation Department took a chance with soccer and instituted the game for the Indiana youth. During the late '70s, several parents saw past the chaotic recreational game and had a vision of soccer as a serious sport in Indiana.  In 1979, the Indiana Area Soccer Boosters (IASB) held its first meeting with a potluck dinner, where the group chose the first officers: Alex Stewart, President; Paul Calvetti, Vice-President; Nick Pacalo, Treasurer; and Pam Dodds, Secretary. The organization's main goals were to promote the sport, extend the boundaries into other areas, and act as a fundraiser for the teams to facilitate participation in Pittsburgh leagues and tournaments.  All this while building and strengthening relations with other soccer organizations. The IASB's first steps led Indiana to be invited to play a trial year in PA West. Even though the year was marked with solid play and a winning record, the league ruled Indiana out by reasoning that excessive travel distance exceeded the quality of play. After two years of consistent lobbying by the IASB for reinstatement, PA West granted re-admittance.  Around that same time, several IASB members presented weeks of research to the Indiana School Board with the hopes of making soccer an extracurricular activity for the junior and senior high school students. Soccer was first introduced at the junior high; it hit the senior high the following year as a boy's sport. It took an additional nine years before the boosters could influence the start of a high school girls' team. IASB's advancements were just beginning. With momentum and popularity rising in the early '90s, the organization entered more age groups for play in PA West. In 1993, U-10, U-12 and a girls U-19 team made their first pass. That same year, a partnership with the Indiana University of Pennsylvania was established to start indoor tournaments.  This strong tradition in Indiana continues today. Currently, the Indiana Area Soccer Boosters have hundreds of players participating in ages ranging from five to nineteen. There are facilities for year-round play at the S&T Arena for Indoor and the White Township Complex for fall and spring Travel & Pee Wee Soccer. IASB has also annually awarded four Indiana High School Soccer Scholarships to Seniors, supported PA West Tournament Championship teams and had two Travel Coaches of the Year from as early as 1982 to as recently as 2005. This proud heritage has laid the foundation for the future success of Indiana soccer.