Soccer on Saturday

Lots of coaching, encouragement and cheering could be heard from the sidelines on Saturday as St. Regis teams played Superior teams in soccer.

Soccer, called the beautiful game, is seeing a huge boost in popularity since the US run in the World Cup this year.

It’s never more evident than on the fields of Mineral County where kids are learning a sport that has world-wide appeal and reach.

Parents and coaches hollered out helpful hints to the players and let them know when they were doing a good job as the kids chased the soccer ball up and down the field, hoping to score a goal. Hustling was key and the kids did their best and coaches rotated players in and out so everyone got a turn to play.

The two teams have different age groups that compete against each other and it’s not about who wins.

It’s all about having fun and learning to work together. Coach Jackie Sanford, who was helping the St. Regis River Rats on Saturday, said it has been a good season so far though it is almost over.

“We’ve got good kids and they’ve been good sports,” Sanford said. “The season’s been going really well.”

Krystina Thompson, who plays for St. Regis, said she enjoys playing the sport because she gets to play with her friends as well as travel outside of the county to play other teams.

“It’s fun,” Thompson said. “And it’s fun to win.”

Sanford said although they don’t keep track of scores, they said the teams have won some and lost some. No matter the circumstances that the kids always try and do their best.

“I think sports teach all kinds of life lessons,” Sanford said. “It teaches them to get along and play on a team. They also learn that when things aren’t going your way, you can’t just stop playing, you have to keep going. They learn sportsmanship, to try hard, but they’re also having fun.”

Courtney Cheesman, who also plays for St. Regis, said the soccer season has been a blast so far.

“I really like playing and getting dirty in the mud,” Cheesman said.

Kelann McLees, president of the Superior soccer league, said the soccer league provides a great avenue for the younger kids in the county to have a sport in which they can become involved with.

“There’s nothing else in Mineral County for these little guys,” McLees said. “This is one of the only sports they can play during the year. The schools don’t have a lot of money to fund all these other sports that the bigger schools do.”

Both leagues have different age groups for the kids including under six (U-6), which is the four and five year olds, under eight (U-8), which is the six and seven year olds, under 10 (U-10), the eight and nine year olds and the under 12 (U-12), the ten and eleven year olds, and under 15, which are the 13 and 14 year olds.

For more photos, check out www.mi-vp.com.