Congratulations are in order for not only the players and coaches of our two Shuswap FC Select teams who will be representing the Thompson Okanagan region in the upcoming provincial championships, but all eight of our Shuswap FC Select teams who made us proud as young ambassadors for our Shuswap region.
The U16 Boys team coached by David Knight overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit in last Saturday’s semifinal and stormed back with four second-half goals to beat Vernon 4-1 and advance to last Sunday’s final against arch rival Kelowna. The final was played with tight checking and fierce intensity as neither squad could find the back of the net in regulation or 20 minutes of overtime. This set up a nerve-racking shootout to decide the regional berth in the Provincials.
Morgan Crandlemire stopped the first Kelowna shooter while all of the first three Shuswap boys scored with their shots. The third Kelowna shooter’s shot rattled off the crossbar and stayed out. When Crandlemire followed up by stopping the fourth, the Shuswap boys began to celebrate as the hard-earned berth in the Provincials was theirs.
The other Shuswap FC team heading to the provincials is the U18 Girls coached by Ian McLellan. Even though the girls lost a hard- fought regional final to Kelowna, they still advanced by virtue of an added regional berth due to Kelowna hosting the girls U18 provincial tournament.
Most years our select teams start the Thompson Okanagan Youth Soccer League season without having even set foot on an outdoor field before their first game, relying only on training in our indoor facility.
This is a huge disadvantage when competing against teams who have been outdoors for two to four weeks before the league begins. Usually by the Select season wind-up in the middle of June, our Shuswap FC Teams are playing their best soccer of the season and are looking for one or more summer tournaments to continue playing in and sharpening their skills with practices.
Shuswap Youth Soccer is proud to endorse and support three summer soccer camps this July and August. Information and registration for all three camps is available on our website at www.shuswapsoccer.com and by clicking on the camps tab.
The first camp, now in its 16th season, is the “Girls Only” held at Little Mountain fields. Tricia Martin and her all-female coaching crew will host U6-U10 girls on July 9 to 13, while July 16 to 20 will be for the older U11-U14 girls.
The following week, July 23 to 27 at Blackburn Park, will be the first time for the “European Football School” Soccer camp. This camp has the highest level certified European and Canadian coaches ever assembled at one camp in the Shuswap region. The first session of each day will be for 7- to 12- year-olds while the late morning, early afternoon session will be for 13- to 18-year-olds.
The final camp, also at Blackburn, runs Aug. 13 to 17 and will be hosted by the Vancouver Whitecaps.
David Broadhurst, technical director of the Whitecaps Okanagan Academy, will be spearheading a cast of current and former Whitecap players including the always popular Carl Valentine. The five days of morning sessions are open to all children ages five to 14.
As we wind up our outdoor spring season, I would to thank all coaches and parents for their understanding in the last-minute schedule changes we have all endured in trying to complete our schedule in this wettest spring in many years.
Just another reminder to all, that up-to-the-minute schedule and field changes are available on our website at www.shuswapsoccer.com
Shuswap Youth Soccer’s annual volunteer barbecue will be held on Friday, July 6 at the Little Mountain Fieldhouse. Check your emails as invites will be sent to all of our amazing SYSA volunteers within the next week.
