Youth soccer teams earn medals in Iowa Games

ned medals for how well they played in the Iowa Games earlier this year.

Players from the Washington Area Soccer Program (WASP) participated in an indoor soccer tournament at the Iowa Games in Dubuque, earning bronze medals for their efforts.

That venue was chosen because ?we thought it would be a nice opportunity for these two teams and our adult team to see some competition they don?t normally see in the regular season,? said Coach Sally Hart. ?We know the Iowa Games pride themselves on sportsmanship and that?s one thing with our kids.?

Practices were held for an hour once a week for the first two months, followed by an hour a night for two nights a week in the month leading into the tournament. Practices were held at St. James School for a small donation, which made it feasible for some of the families.

At the Iowa Games, both teams placed well and both coaches were pleased with the results.

?We?re really happy to see them succeed and bring home a medal,? Hart said. ?I know it doesn?t seem like a big deal sometimes when you?re an adult, but to see the kids? faces when the medals were presented, made the long nights worth it.?

It wasn?t easy to get the bronze, Heather Perez said.

?We played three games Saturday,? Perez said. ?If the team won, three points were scored. If the team tied, they earned one point and earned zero points if they lost.?

?Each team finished second in their pool,? Hart said. ?That meant they played against the other second-place team from the opposite pool Sunday to get the third-place medal.?

Hart and Perez said the kids were excited to earn bronze, but they, as coaches, were excited as well.

?It was really interesting because we, as coaches, played while we were there. It was so much more rewarding for them to succeed than it was for us to win,? Hart said.

?In my eyes, we spend so much time with the kids, to see them get so excited and winning, it brings a lot of joy,? Perez said.

The teams now are focusing on the spring season.

?All of them will still be on a team together,? Hart said. ?In the fall and spring we have four different teams and all of these kids are part of the 12-and-under team.

?The Iowa Games is such a big event, we split that team into two, a 12U and 11U, in order to play. With them coming back, they will continue to play together.?

Playing together beyond the youth program would be nice, as well.

?We would love to see them play at the high school level if they choose to,? Perez said.

?We have some high school students help coach our younger levels and when they get to that age, we are hoping the younger ones will come back and help teach the next generation so the program keeps growing and soccer remains a nice option for families in town,? Hart said. ?We make it affordable for families, and sportsmanship is what we teach almost more than soccer skills. We want students to learn how to work together and be on time. We want them to take the life skills, even if they aren?t playing soccer later on, and use them later.?

?That?s my favorite thing about having the high school players come help,? Perez said. ?We sit down and tell them ?by choosing to do this, you will be role models for the kids which means, you have to make good choices even when you?re not on the field.? It gives the high-schoolers something to do besides running around.?

The 11U team earned a second medal at the event, for sportsmanship.

?We didn?t even learn about that until weeks later after Heather received a letter in the mail,? Hart said. ?It was a complete shock. Even if they hadn?t won anything else and won just that, I would be thrilled to death. That shows that what we?re teaching them, they are really picking up.

?And it?s not just the players, it?s the families, too. Fans give a certain perception about the team. Seeing our parents and the players? siblings are also positive reinforcement, that is speaks volumes of who we have here in Washington.?

What makes the sportsmanship medals more exciting is that the kids haven?t received them yet.

?They will be presented at our first practice this spring,? Perez said. ?We haven?t had a chance to see them since the game.?

Not only did the 11U team earn a sportsmanship award, so did the coaches? team.

?Our team of coaches earned one after they had an opportunity to play in a game,? Perez said. ?We called ourselves the ?Queen WASP? and we brought home gold.?

The coaches enjoyed the opportunity to play, too.

?As someone who coaches all year long,? Hart said, ?one of the hardest parts for me is not really having a chance to play. Sometimes, I want to get out on the field and play. But that?s not my job anymore. Having this chance just for a weekend was awesome. It was very tiring, but awesome.?

?It was so cool not only for us to play, but having our kids there to cheer us on and watch us play,? Perez said. ?I think it added something for them because they don?t get to watch that often and we are always telling them what to do. Instead, they got to see us play and I had several parents tell me how much they enjoyed getting to see that.?

Even though it was a long weekend, it was rewarding and Hart and Perez would do it again.

?Definitely,? Hart said. ?These are the kind of opportunities we want to pursue in the future, even with more teams.

?It was something we tried out with the one group, and we hope we have the resources and travel more or go to the summer or winter games again so that even more kids of different ages have a chance to play.?