U-10 players, who were selected from the 100 Mile House & District Soccer Association, played two teams from Williams Lake at the 100 Mile House Soccer Fields on Aug. 13, and they tied their first game and won the second.
100 Mile came back from being down one in the first contest thanks to a successful penalty kick marker with about two minutes left in the game.
Local coach Steven Keller says he was pleased with the way his team played hard to come back from being one goal down.
Game 2 saw them knock off Williams 3-1.
Both games were played under very hot conditions and coaches substituted players liberally to ensure they didn’t get overheated and they were hydrated.
The strategy worked well as the players on the pitch were fresh and they competed hard in the co-ed soccer play-day.
Keller certainly liked what he saw.
“I think it went extremely well. The kids worked really hard. Both games were well played.
“Both games were sportsmanlike; the players supported each other really well; and I was happy with it. They dug deep and came back from being a goal down in both games.”
This was the second time these teams (most of the players were the same) as the 100 Mile House squad travelled to Williams Lake on June 9 for three friendly games, which saw 100 Mile come back home with a one win, one loss and one tie record.
This inaugural event had 100 Mile going up against the Williams Lake Future Stars.
The idea came about because of coach Keller’s son, Matthew Keller, was in the Future Stars lineup.
Noting there wasn’t a rep team for this age group, Steven says he threw some players – some he coached and others he thought would fit in nicely – so they could get a taste of playing against out-of-town teams.
Steven says he hopes there will be enough players to fill rep teams in the various age groups and play in the Cariboo Youth Soccer League next year.
If there isn’t enough players to form a rep team, the coach says he would like to pull some players together and have play-day weekends so they can play against teams from Williams Lake, Quesnel and Prince George.
“It will give them some extra competition and help them develop their skills, so they can reach a higher level.”
Meanwhile, the players return to the pitch in the first week of September and play until Oct. 1.
