The summer is not only a time for sun, sea, and sand – it is time for soccer. If you play soccer, coach soccer, or you are a soccer parent, you understand what lies ahead. Summer tournaments are the highlight of the year for many kids. You are surrounded by hundreds of players and supporters. Everybody is there to compete, to get a little better, and to win a medal. The organization that goes on for these tournaments is incredible. It starts with selling the tournament to teams and coaches. You want to fill the brackets with competitive teams, and you want to market the weekend as something not to be missed. Once you have teams, then everything else on the list begins to take shape. You need to confirm venues and fields, vendors and sponsors, medals, t-shirts, scheduling of games, volunteers, parking…. This is to name just a few things that make up the ever increasing list of things to do.
But for the rest of us who just turn up and watch or play soccer, we just hope for nice weather, good performances, and smiles on the kids faces. My first tournament of the summer starts today, at Starfire in Tukwila. It’s the first time I am coaching my new teams, so fingers crossed it all goes well.
