Parkland’s senior girls soccer team is building for the future, says coach Kirsten Dibblee.
Her squad this season is young — only four Grade 11s and 12s are on the roster, including Erin Pomphrey who has been with Dibblee for the full four years.
“Even so, I think these girls are very skilled and have played soccer and have played together for a while,” Dibblee said. “It will be a building year, looking to the next two or three years.”
Dibblee said her team is essentially a junior group playing up a level this season — but she adds they should be able to handle playing there. They started practicing early, said the coach, to get up to speed and form a good sense of teamwork. Last year’s team, she said, consisted of mostly international students. This season, more local girls tried out and the interest was so strong that Dibblee said she had to make cuts for the first time in years. The team still has the international connection, fielding two players from Germany and one from Columbia.
Parkland was scheduled to open their season March 31 at Blue Heron Park in North Saanich, however their opponents from Esquimalt could not field a team.
It’s a bit of a blow for the league. Dibblee said Parkland plays at the AA level in the south Island and has only five league games. Parkland adds a couple tournaments into the mix — the University of Victoria tourney in mid-April and up-Island at Carihi (Campbell River) at the end of the month.
Dibblee said she hopes the team will do well enough to reach the Island championships this season. Whether they get there or not, she said the goal is to have fun, “so I can keep them around for four years.”
Parkland plays Tuesdays and Thursdays. Their home games are at Blue Heron Park and the ball drops at 3:45 p.m.
