Kendra Leinor of the Oliver U-13/14 girls soccer team, in green, attempts to boot the ball past her Summerland opponents during the Ice Breaker Soccer tournament held last weekend. U-13/14 girls head coach Sue Leinor, with clipboard, talks
strategy with her team during the halftime break. Dale Cory photos
“Wow! Its hard to believe another soccer season is upon us.”
Steve Podmorrow, head coach of the Oliver U-11/12 girls soccer team, could hardly contain his excitement while watching his team perform on the pitch Saturday at Desert Park.
Yes – the soccer season is officially underway.
Teams within Pinnacles Football Club (PFC), the umbrella organization which governs youth soccer in the South Okanagan, took to the pitch this past weekend to participate in the annual Ice Breaker Soccer Tournament. A majority of the games were played at Desert Park in Osoyoos, with a few games being staged at Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver.
“The PFC Ice Breaker tournament was well attended by our Club League. The tournament was a great opportunity for coaches and players to work together before the season starts,” said Ezra Cremers, Head Coach and Executive Director for PFC. “Thank you to all involved who made this tournament our best Ice Breaker to date.”
The tournament was a great opportunity for coaches and players in Oliver to get in some game time in preparation for the start of league play.
“At this point in the season things are just getting started. Players are shaking the dust off their boots and coming together as a team, and, may not know each other very well at all,” said Matthew Wood, the Oliver head coach with Pinnacles FC. “It’s important to remember that this is a sport and we’re here to have fun. (We encourage players to) Listen to your coaches, make the effort to get to know each other a little better and build that team atmosphere that’s so vital to the game.”
And that’s exactly what Podmorrow is working on accomplishing with his Strikers girls team.
“It is a big transition for young soccer players to go from mini-soccer to an eight-versus-eight small-sided soccer league. Our team continued to improve its play over the course of the three games they competed in this past weekend,” added Podmorrow. “For many of the U-11/12 girls it was their first experience playing against another all-girls team. The enthusiasm and energy that the girls bring to the pitch should make for a fun season all round.”
As Oliver’s head coach, Matthew Wood oversees all of the Oliver teams, from U-11 all the way up to U-18. He’s not affiliated with any one team in particular, and is in the position to cultivate team and individual success on the pitch.
“My team is the coaches and co-ordinators for Oliver Pinnacles. I’m here to offer them whatever support, guidance and encouragement they need to enrich not only their work – but the experience of the players as well. At the risk of repeating myself, I look at the volunteers we have – coaches, assistant coaches, parents thrown in to help with a drill and co-ordinators and see a team I’m proud to be working with,” explained Wood, who has been busy through the spring attending workouts to ensure positive growth within PFC. “ I’ve had the pleasure of meeting our teams this week in training sessions and they look great. We’ve got some fantastic volunteer coaches on board and awesome co-ordinators – Brandt Leinor and Jocelyn Kirs – and I’m really excited to see the kids in action at the Icebreaker Tournament. The way things are shaping up, it’s going to be a superb season.”
While not as many youth have signed up for soccer in Oliver as last year, Wood is confident that number can still increase, especially with registration still open.
“At the moment our numbers are a little bit lower than they were last year, though there still is time for registrations to come in,” he added. “We would love to see as many players as possible from all ages come out and play.”
You can register online through the Pinnacles FC Website or email Wood directly at: [email protected].
Mini soccer in Oliver begins April 7 and is held at Tuc El Nuit School Tuesday and Saturday.
Regular season play for the rest of the teams begins the weekend of April 11-12.
Dale Cory
Oliver Chronicle
