You might say it all started at Jim’s Restaurant.  Or you could say it started out of the back of a station wagon.  We know for sure it started in 1974 along a lightly traveled road called Research Boulevard.  That’s when Jim Archer, Wesley Roach and a handful of dads and moms with young families settling on the edges of Travis and Williamson counties decided to organize sports for their kids to play.  And so they did, starting an Optimist Club named because the area was not far from town, but still mostly in the country.

They sold Christmas trees to raise the initial funds.  They borrowed an open field next to Research Boulevard, staked out two make-shift baseball fields, and held their first registration out of the back of a station wagon.  230 kids signed up to play baseball, and T&C Sports was off and running.  Softball started a short time later. 

In 1977, twelve of the newly minted Optimists took personal financial risks in signing a promissory note to acquire 14 acres at Broadmeade and FM620, near today’s Forest North Elementary School.  The dads and moms (called Opti-Mrs.) did the labor themselves constructing the fields, holding registrations, coaching the teams and running concessions (Frito Pie was the big seller).  It was a pure and formidable volunteer army.

In the new space, the first soccer goal was scored in 1977, and the first football touchdown in 1981. 

In 1984, the Optimists sold the original 14 acres for $700,700, and with the proceeds acquired the first 40 acres of our current 90+ acres and 30 fields.  Just this year, new homes filled in the last open spaces on our northern and eastern borders, making T&C fully bounded by residential neighbors. 

Today’s T&C serves more than 8,000 kids every year, and more than 200,000 folks pass through our gates annually.  Volunteerism is alive and well, with almost 1,000 adults helping each year to coach the kids and organize our 7 sports leagues.  If you are reading this and you are one of these wonderful people, THANK YOU!

We have expanded in other ways too, with camps, tournaments, sponsors, and key relationships such as with Lonestar Soccer Club, a premier select soccer program. T&C families have the widest choice available with both T&C’s soccer program and Lonestar playing at our campus.

With all of the growth, we’ve added professional help to coordinate programs and to maintain safe and high quality facilities.  We are extremely fortunate to have two great people I want to especially highlight – Kim Cyree and Eddy Cortez. 

Kim is our Office Manager and the one who talks and emails with thousands of parents and volunteers each season.  She is a stellar organizer and likes nothing better than helping kids and parents have a great experience.  She’s a mom of 3 daughters and has done a little T&C coaching herself. 

Eddy is our Maintenance Director and Grounds-keeper.  He’s been with us for 15 years and knows every inch of T&C’s acreage.   Thanks to his expertise, he oversees some of the best playing fields in Austin. 

If you see Kim or Eddy on campus please say hello.  They love to meet our T&C families and volunteers.

My hope is that every player and parent has a wonderful time this fall season.  Please let us know your ideas as we keep working to become ‘Austin’s Best Place for Youth Sports.’

Sincerely,

Rob Nester

President

Town & Country Optimist Club

president@tandcsports.org