An Osoyoos shot is batted away keeping the game scoreless. Players of the U-11 boys club team were some of the youngsters lacing up their cleats on Saturday for a busy day of soccer. The season winds down soon, but players have made big improvements since the start of the season say some proud parents. (Trevor Nichols photo)
As the sun seared down on the Okanagan Valley on Saturday, Pinnacles FC players of all ages took to turf for a day of soccer.
Across Osoyoos, soccer fields filled up with junior players fighting for pride and position as the summer soccer season drew to a close.
The players of the U-11 boys club team were some of the boys lacing up their cleats. The boys faced off against their Penticton rivals in a seven-on-seven match in the sweltering oval at Desert Park.
The U-11 club team is a development team, so the games technically have no score, but don’t tell that to the boys on the field.
With quick feet and explosive offence, the boys found the net more than once. Fighting through the heat and showing little sign of fatigue, they played a game many spectators lauded as their best of the season.
Even the team’s young call-up from the lower age brackets had an impact, hustling hard and making a significant offensive impact over the course of the game.
Cheering from the sidelines, Gail Kidd said she’s seen a big improvement in the team’s play since the start of the season in early April.
“They’re passing better and moving as a group,” she said. “They’re playing a lot better than last year.”
The game was the seventh of the season, which means that the boys have only two games left before the end of their season.
Since they are a development team there will be no playoffs, however Pinnacles FC end-of-season wrap-up tournament will be one more chance for the players to show off their skills.
The Pinnacles Football Club Cup will be held from June 19-21, inviting teams from across the region for a weekend of round-robin play.
If their performance last Saturday is any indication, the outlook is a good one for the U-11 boys.
TREVOR NICHOLS
Special to the Times
Osoyoos’ Jaspartap Takher blasts a clearing ball past a Pentiction forward. (Trevor Nichols photo)
Players race to keep the ball in play. (Trevor Nichols photo)
