While we were driving home from our first out of state tournament to Las Vegas we asked our daughter Maddie what the best part of the trip was for her. We expected answers like seeing grandma and grandpa, visiting the M&M store, swimming, the team party, or any of the fun glittery things you can do in Vegas. But she immediately answered, “Playing soccer!”
It has been quite an adventure for our young team. We started out trying to go to a tournament at the beginning of December. That tournament was cancelled so we decided to go to one over Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. Along the way we had many lifelong memories. We cleaned the Spectrum twice, cleaned a neighbor’s yard, sold concessions at a men’s indoor tournament, and hosted a U10/11 boys-girls tournament.
The tournament we hosted was a fast, furious, and fun event! Some of the girls played 9 games in one day. They were able to play together and then play with other teams. It was great fun to watch them play so hard against some very tough boys’ teams and then join them to play with them at other times. It was a fun soccer community building activity.
We also scrimmaged many different teams throughout Cache Valley to prepare. Thanks to Crossfire, Bobcats, Infinity U10 boy’s premier, and Hot Shots for willingly come help us prepare by giving us very challenging scrimmages. We got to see different styles of play and coaching which helped us to prepare.
When we left for Vegas we didn’t know what to expect. We were both excited and nervous. But all that preparation paid off. Our first game on Friday night we won 11-0. We went to a Round Table Pizza after the game to celebrate. Take a look on the back wall and you’ll now see an Infinity practice jersey with all the girls’ signatures pinned to the wall! Then on Saturday we had two games that we won 6-1 and the 3-0. After that game we had a well deserved pool party. It was very hard for the girls to wait that long to finally go swimming. Sunday was a free day where many girls went to the M&M store, Red Rock State Park, or just played at the arcade! Then on Monday we had a morning game that we won 11-0. WE WERE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! We played extremely hard and never gave up! We ended up taking second place. Yes, we lost the game in PK’s but the smiles on the girls’ faces in the end reminded us if you all had fun then you all WON!!!
All of the games were great fun. We had four guest players play with us. All of the girls played terrific and got along great. The sportsmanship that Coach Doney instilled in us earned a complement from the tournament staff. Each girl who traveled on our Infinity SC girls 99 is a better player for having gone to the tournament. We can’t wait for the next one!!!
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