Soccer tourney draws all kinds
Kids really do say the darndest things. Take 7-year-old Madi Goldfeldt. Madi was one of hundreds of local participants at the Sports Illustrated for Kids Kick-It 3v3 soccer shootout held Saturday and Sunday at the Plantes Ferry Complex.
After her team, the 7U Pink Polar Bears, won their division on Sunday, Goldfeldt was grinning from ear to ear. And it wasn’t just soccer on her mind. When asked if she was a World Cup soccer fan she wasn’t really sure.
“I like the girl who won yesterday,” Goldfeldt said. “I like tennis.”
She was speaking, of course, of Amelie Mauresmo’s win in the women’s championship at Wimbledon.
Ben Hutchens, a member of the DigiDeal team that won the 10U Recreation bracket, wasn’t too interested in Sunday’s World Cup Final between France and Italy either.
“I wanted Brazil to win so today doesn’t matter,” Hutchens said.
Why was this little guy rooting for Brazil?
“When I was at soccer practice one day we had a team and we were named Brazil,” Hutchens said.
Goldfeldt and Hutchens did have one thing in common.
Both of their teams, winners of their respective brackets (along with teams from 17 other brackets), are moving on to the Western Regional Championships held August 12-13 at Snohomish, Wash. The top five teams in each bracket qualified for regionals.
The Kick-It 3v3 soccer tour is the largest 3-on-3 soccer tournament in the nation. Cities host Regional Qualifiers and Championships; each time a team advances it is working toward the 2006 World Championships held January 14-16 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. This is the second time the tournament has come to Spokane.
Players range from 7-years-old to over 30 and can compete recreationally or competitively.
The fields are shortened, the nets are smaller and teams play without goalkeepers. Contests are limited to two 12-minute halves.
But as much as the players love to win, they also love to be playing among friends. And the parents love it, too.
“The atmosphere is great and everyone comes together. We met a lot of new people this weekend, it was great,” said Doug Naves, coach of DigiDeal.
Naves’ assistant coach for the weekend was his daughter, 6-year-old Alexandra Naves, who said she sure had a lot of fun. Well, she didn’t say it so much as nod when asked if it was fun hanging out with Dad all weekend.
Fun – it seems that is what this event was all about. And it looked like everyone was having plenty of it, even in the blazing sun.
“It’s such a popular sport among youth and the kids had so much fun, even the older kids. It was just a really successful event,” John Goldfeldt, Madi’s dad and coach, said.
“It sure is nice to get into some shade though.”