The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
On Friday the second and final phase of sod laying was to be completed at the new Creighton soccer field. The sod was laid by a combination of Town of Creighton employees and volunteer help. The resulting field is certainly the jewel in the crown of local soccer. With two fields now located in Saskatchewan, we will be able to hold tournament sanctioned by the Saskatchewan Soccer Association. It is also time to start thinking of ways to help the Phantom Lake Soccer Club next season. New volunteers are always needed. Next year we will again consider having a second season. We would play as usual in the spring, take time off, and resume play in August. We did try this year, but we only had a few volunteers come forward to help, certainly not enough to operate. Maybe next year we will be able to organize it. Only time will tell. In September, the Phantom Lake Soccer Club will hold its annual general meeting. We are always open to new ideas and new people. Currently a lot of work goes into what is essentially a six-week season, and if the weather does not cooperate, this can be a five-week season. With new fields planned, and the phenomenal interest in this area's fastest growing game, our kids should have the option of a longer season so that they can compete on a level playing field with their southern counterparts. We also have to develop those players who show talent. To do this, we need rep teams made up of the best players in the area, trained by qualified coaches, who can compete in out of town tournaments. We have a definite shortage of qualified soccer skills coaches in Flin Flon. Without these coaches, our kids will never have the opportunity to develop their talent. There have been two coach clinics organized in this area during 2006, and both had to be canceled due to lack of participants. It would seem that the interest our kids have in soccer is not always reflected in our adults. This will change with evolution, as the kids of today become the parents of tomorrow. The next generation of parents will be the ones who kick start Flin Flon soccer programs into what they are in virtually every other part of the country. * * * The new high school year starts next week, and with it the start of varsity sports. Our very own Hapnot Kweens have been training three times a week for over a month. Some senior players with full-time jobs have yet to return, but with a current training squad of 16 players and the prospect of at least another six to report, competition for places on the final 18-player team will be tough. The younger girls who have been training with us have a lot of talent and are certainly impressing this coach. With an average current team age of just over 15, they will develop into superb players given the opportunity. Why not come out and watch them train? You may be surprised at the skill of these young players. The training routines are based on professional sessions, and just as hard. The sessions may have surprised a couple of the new girls, but the equation between hard work and success is proven. When the last kick of the game has to be as effective as the first one, the commitment to win absolute, nothing short of 100 per cent effort will succeed. * * * Last Wednesday, the unthinkable happened Ð Chelsea lost a premiership game. Not only lost, but lost to Middlesborough. In a true David and Goliath contest, the superstars of Chelsea were beaten by the minnows of the premiership. Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho was said to be livid at the result. I can only imagine that billionaire owner Roman Abromavich was a tad miffed as well. After all, with a wage bill that would cripple some of the biggest clubs in the world, losing just is not in their vocabulary. Well, they learnt how to spell loser! In Canada, the early season leading Vancouver Whitecaps now find themselves struggling to make the USL playoffs. With four home games remaining in their schedule, they now lie fourth in the table after losing 2-0 to the Seattle Sounders. Seattle is making a bid for an MLS franchise and plan to move into a new stadium next year. Vancouver, which had lost to Seattle in eleven straight games going into Friday's contest, could not break the trend. The result dropped Vancouver from second in the table to fourth. Canada's women's U20 team were beaten last Wednesday by China in their final group game of the U20 championship. Women's soccer worldwide is improving at such a pace that Canada's dominance is under threat. Losing to China and Nigeria and beating only Finland, means that those teams move on to the next stage of the tournament with Canada coming home. Montreal Impact lead the USL first division by five points. Montreal was held to a draw by the Toronto Lynx last Wednesday. The Toronto Lynx, Canada's entry into the MLS next year, will move into their new national stadium next year as the aptly named Toronto FC. The power struggle between German team Bayern Munich and Manchester United for Canadian player Owen Hargreaves is heating up. Bayern has issued a warning, but Hargreaves only wants to play if it is for United. With a signed contract to 2010, Bayern is in the driver's seat. I would not be surprised if a multi-player deal is in the works. Sir Alex Ferguson is very quiet so far, saying only that he "believes" that Hargeaves will be a United player very soon. And what Sir Alex wants, Sir Alex normally gets. Until next week Ð keep on kicking!
