A good opportunity for smaller schools to compete and more touches on the ball for everyone involved.
Those are the benefits Doug Sweetapple sees with organizing a seven-aside (or eight) spring soccer tournament for both high school and junior high teams will be held May 26 at Wellington Street Sports Complex in Corner Brook.
Teams from Corner Brook, Stephenville, Deer Lake and Grand Falls-Windsor are expected to send teams to Corner Brook for a one-day tournament that will feature two games (two 30-minute halves) being played across Wellington simultaneously.
Sweetapple travelled to Belanger Memorial to officiate seven-aside soccer that was being played at the provincial 2A soccer tournament and saw how the game was being embraced by the players so he thought he would see if there was interest in a tournament with a smaller contingent of players.
“Kids love it. It’s a faster game really because it’s played with fewer players,” Sweetapple said. “I think the kids really enjoy it whereas with the big field you’re not as involved as you are with a smaller-size field.”
Sweetapple believes the tournament will probably be eight-aside and follow the same concept as seven-aside to give more players a chance to play and he believes it will be a fun time for all players because they can learn the game faster with less players to compete against at one time.
He also thinks it’s a tournament that will be well received by players who are just being introduced to the sport and won’t feel as intimidated as they would if they were playing full field.
He likes the idea of having smaller schools eager to compete when they know they don’t have the challenge of coming up with a full roster when most teams who play the full field usually have 14 or 15 players on the roster.
Final details are being worked out on number of teams and a schedule, but Sweetapple believes a similar tournament could be held in the fall of the year if this one goes over well with the players so he’s looking forward to seeing how players respond.
