Soccermania has officially taken over the lakecity.
Hundreds of youth are crowding city and Esler Sports Complex soccer fields on almost a daily basis.
Last month, the Williams Lake Youth Soccer Association hosted its first annual Soccer Festival at the Esler Sports Complex.
The goal was to get the soccer season off to a positive start and to get players, coaches, referees and parents actively involved in soccer.
The entire day was free and a variety of events were offered.
Coaches and a referee mentor from BC Soccer participated in the day, along with local dedicated and highly-skilled coaches from Williams Lake.
The coaches provided a variety of skill camps including player camps for two different age groups, a specialized goal keeping camp and an on-field referee training workshop.
New coaches were provided a coach training session to help them improve their coaching techniques.
Jane Flinton offered a clinic on nutrition for athletes, while physiotherapists Brittany Klingman and Tyler Judd discussed concussion management and injury prevention.
Roughly 400 people came out to enjoy the day and many took advantage of the free babysitting services offered by one of our local rep teams and a nutritious Subway lunch.
The WLYSA executive said it would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who participated and helped out to make the day a success.
They added they would like to make the Soccer Festival an annual event to help promote soccer in the community.
