PHOENIX (August 29th, 2019) -- The Arizona Soccer Association (ASA), the largest youth sports organization in Arizona, and Banner Health, one of the largest health care organizations in the country, are announcing today an enhanced extension to Banner Health's partnership through 2022. This partnership recognizes Banner Health as the Official Healthcare Provider of the Arizona Soccer Association, and allows ASA and Banner Health to place greater focus on two primary areas:
 

• Athlete Care – Banner Health will provide ASA and its athletes the opportunity to access best-in-class medical services including: concussion care, orthopedics, physical therapy, urgent care, and family practice. 
   
• Education – Parents, athletes, coaches, and referees will learn how to reduce some of these sports-related injuries to help decrease overall missed playing time. 
   

"We've already seen the benefits of this enhanced partnership as more than 100 parents attended a presentation on overuse injuries from Banner Health at ODP Tryouts," said ASA CEO Rick Kelsey. "Banner Health has been a great community partner for our athletes and parents and we are thrilled that we can continue to provide more education and learning opportunities throughout Arizona."

ASA and Banner Health will also work together to create community-level programming to support the end-to-end health and well-being programs and education for youth players and parents, both on and off the field. 

About Arizona Soccer Association

Founded in 1974 as a non-profit, the Arizona Soccer Association (ASA) is the largest soccer association in the state with more than 45,000 registered players. The ASA provides recreation and competitive play, coaching education, parent education, health and well-being information, and TOPSoccer, the community outreach program. The ASA hosts Arizona’s most prestigious soccer tournaments every year: State Cup, Presidents Cup, and Adult State Cup.

About Banner Health

Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system owns and operates 28 acute-care hospitals, Banner Health Network, Banner – University Medicine, academic and employed physician groups, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services; including Banner Urgent Care, family clinics, home care and hospice services, pharmacies and a nursing registry. Banner Health is in six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit www.BannerHealth.com.