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.
An additional 50 players have been added to the roster with the Phantom Lake Soccer Club. Although the players may not have the skill down pat or even all the rules, the Bumblebee Soccer League seems to be the reason for the recent spike. The league gives children, ages two and three, a chance to get out, have some fun and make new friends. Dean Grove, with the Phantom Lake Soccer Club, says the numbers are sitting the highest that he has ever seen them. Over the past few years, ladies' soccer and men's soccer have been added as well as a few new players, but Grove says having 41 new tots join the club has put their numbers over 500. Grove attributes 470 children playing the game to a few reasons. Aside from the Bumblebee division, he says having three nice fields to play on has also helped to bring in a few new players. Even though the weather has been lousy, Grove says the players have not had to miss too much time because of the drain systems placed in the fields. But the spike in numbers to the Phantom Lake Soccer Club didn't come as a huge shock as Grove says interest has been building over the years. "People are getting more and more involved," he says. "I see more of a buzz because of (media) and more and more people are going through the soccer system and are still playing." Even though it has not been around for long in the Flin Flon area, the men's and ladies soccer is picking up interest all the time. "More than we've ever had," he said. Also making note, Grove says it's not just Flin Flon that is having a soccer boom Ð he says it's nationwide. "I think more people are playing soccer than hockey," he says. Another plus for the local soccer stars is getting to play in Division 5. Going through the soccer system, Grove says athletes can then play in Division 5 and hone their skills. While it's still a part of the Phantom Lake Soccer Club, the athletes are thrown onto a mixed team. "The guys and girls are mixed and it's pretty equal," he says. Starting out at a young age, Grove says a player sometimes doesn't learn all the skills until they are 12 or 13 years old. From there, the athletes can take what they know and play in Division 5 to learn even more tricks of the trade. "It's not a long season," says Grove about the local soccer, "but they have good competition and local development." But when it comes down to it, Grove says he thinks the big spike came from the addition of the Bumblebee Soccer League. "We normally get 420 (children) but we've got another 41 through the bumblebees," he says. And with the spike in those numbers, Grove says he has seen a few new faces on the field this year in other divisions. "We've got 78 at Division 5 Ð which has gone up a couple players," he says. As for the overall number, Grove says it's "about 50 over last year."
