Pincher Creek Voice: Soccer at the 2014 SASG

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Soccer at the 2014 SASG

U18 Soccer

Justine Jorgensen U18 Soccer story, photos, and videos - The Southern Alberta Summer Games U18 Soccer event kicked off on Friday July 4 under blue skies, with soaring temperatures and barely any wind (a rarity for Pincher Creek!). The event took place at Sproule Field. Each game consisted of two forty five minute halves and a ten minute break between each. Five teams participated in a round-robin that resulted Saturday in Gold for the MD of Taber, Silver for the County of Lethbridge, Bronze for the County of Warner, fourth for the City of Medicine Hat and fifth for the City of Lethbridge.

Right from the start soccer was very intense. Smart plays were seen from each team - it was a good showcase of talent. The players mustered great effort despite the heat; fortunately, the wind picked up Saturday to combat the sun. There were times when the voices of the players could be heard across the field, commenting on the weather - once such instance came from the County of Lethbridge when two boys casually chatted (while running): "Oh she's cooking out!" "Ya she's toasty!"

U18 County of Lethbridge celebrates a goal
Justine Jorgensen photo

In fact, the County of Lethbridge team in particular seemed to be having a great time over the course of the two days - they were referred to as the "tie-dye team" because of their colourful jerseys and were constantly teasing each other as well as the opposing team, all in good fun. Team members would playfully push and shove when leaving the field and if someone made a mistake, high-pitched "don't worry about it" exclamations would ring out. Although County of Lethbridge put on an easygoing front, they were still able to pick up the focus when needed. The final round-robin game coincidentally ended up being between the top two teams, therefore it was a gold medal game match; the County of Lethbridge and the MD of Taber ramped up intensity but at the same time brought humour to the game that made it a pleasure to watch, ending with a four-one score in favour of Taber.

There were many interesting moments at the field over the games - some cheer-worthy and some cringe-worthy. The City of Lethbridge had a penchant for scoring on themselves; for each of their four games, they scored the first goal against themselves, but took it with good nature. There were many times when the players on the field seemed to embody the spirit of the games, as they worked hard, pushed through obstacles and enjoyed themselves while doing it.

Not only the players showed good character - it was the volunteers working behind the scenes that made the games possible. Yunha Jung, linesmen for several of the U18 soccer games, when asked why she volunteered simply said "Because I like soccer." She went on to say that it was good to see teams from other towns that are not normally in Pincher Creek's league for the regular soccer season; the Summer Games provided the opportunity to see some new plays and strategy.

Unfortunately, U18 soccer was not all easygoing fun and straight competition. There were times over the weekend when tensions ran high. Players on the field as well as viewers in the audience voiced complaints about the lines-ing and the reffing - a few times half the bleachers agreed with the ref's call and the other half did not. This led to arguments on the sidelines as the players on the field complained directly to ref. In one game, there was two red cards along with several yellow cards.

This was not in the spirit of the Summer Games. The refs and the linesmen were all volunteers; of course, not every infraction of the rules can be caught, but they do not deserve to be blamed in such a manner for making mistakes. It was disapointing that respect and common courtesy were lacking at some parts of the soccer event.