By Anne Larsen
If you want to get pumped about the sport of soccer, talk to the Black Hills Football Club (BFC) Boys U12 Black Team. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and for good reason. They are fresh off a victory at the Division 1 Challenge Cup and ready to talk slides, crushing opponents, teamwork, drills, and all the fun they have. These kids are crazy- in the good crazy kind of way! They love playing in the rain (uugghh), have never even considered the idea of “burnout,” and are out there kicking it up because they love the game, their coaches, and their teammates.
First and foremost, a huge congratulations goes out to every member of the team. I talked with four members about their long and extensive soccer careers (why I ask 11 year-olds about burnout is beyond me), playing for Blackhills FC, coaches, practices, tournaments and mottos (they have some good ones)! So here’s what Duncan, Sawyer, Luke and Jackson have to say!
Duncan has been playing soccer since the age of 4. He started playing Blackhills when he was 8 and has just been going up from there! He plays forward, center back, and center left. He loves playing for Blackhills because of the “energy that they bring, they are super nice and you just fit in when you start playing.”
Sawyer had to do some verifying with his mom, but he’s been playing ever since he can remember. He’s a center back and keeper, but likes playing center back more. The great thing about Blackhills is that “everyone cares about it, it’s not just parents making kids do it.”
Four years ago, Luke started playing soccer “because I had a good friend who played and we would always play soccer at his house with his brothers.” Covering center midfield, Jackson has been playing for a total of 7 years, 2 years with Blackhills.
The boys train at the Blackhills Complex on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 5:30 to 7:00. Rain, shine, sleet, snow – nothing stops these kids from practice. They actually LIKE it when it rains! They have sliding practice and do all types of drills in the rain. Practicing in every type of weather makes them Challenge Cup ready again. My jaw dropped when Sawyer said he liked playing in the rain, “it’s the heat I don’t like.” Oh, the difference between being a spectator and player!
This past year, the boys head coach was Kurt Gress, and Duncan’s dad Kevin was one of the assistant coaches. I am always amazed when parents coach their kids — and both enjoy the experience — but Duncan was nothing but positive about having dad Kevin assist. “I like it that he tells me what I do wrong. I kind of bring it up and I ask him what I do right or what I do wrong. He gives me good energy.”
Coach Kurt sounds like he approaches the game with a solid sense of humor and according to Sawyer doesn’t make them run a ton! Duncan likes that he’s a “big kid with an enthusiastic sense of humor,” while Jackson likes it “when he gives funny nicknames to everyone on the team.”
At the beginning of the season the team was playing Division 4 and they won every game (or “crushed” them according to Sawyer), so they moved up to Division 3. After a bit of a rough go at playing in Division 3 the team really came together for the Challenge Cup. As Jackson puts it, “I think our team stepped it up in the tournament after a very rough spring season.”
Friendship, chemistry, and the trust they have in each other’s abilities is what really bonds this team. Luke addresses the team’s strong skill set. “I think that the biggest keys to our success are running lines which makes us faster and have better endurance. We also play the four goal game which helps us in switching the ball from one side of the field to the other.”
Sawyer reminds himself that even after they score, to “always pretend it’s 0-0 and just try hard.” Coach Kurt seems to have little mottos or sayings that resonate with his team and motivate them along the way. “He tells us to get in the other players’ pants. It sounds funny but it means to stay that close to the man you are matched up with.” Really, it is funny. But that is the kind of motivation that sticks with you because you remember it!
This past weekend cemented the teamwork and friendship this U12 team has, leaving the team with a feeling that they really accomplished something big together. Coach Kurt reminded them, “this is your last chance to win — just try and win” — and they did.
A year of hard work, training, and becoming better soccer players along the way certainly paid off. Next year you can look to see these players “crushing” their opponents and proving their worth in Division 3 and showing their opponents what they are made of!
