Youth local athletes are ready to kick off another soccer season.
The Williams Lake Youth Soccer Association (WLYSA) opened its spring season at the end of April by holding its Soccerfest and Gear Swap.
The WLYSA is the city’s largest youth sports organization, with up to 1,000 members between the ages of three and 18 each year. They also have fall and winter seasons.
The U3 to U5 Little Kickers teams have one practice and game time per week, with practices on either Wednesday evenings or Saturday mornings.
U6 to U13 division teams also have one practice during weekdays and one game on Saturday mornings each week.
The U14 to U18 teams have two games scheduled per week, with group drop-in practice sessions to be scheduled at a later date.
Although the weekend of events was a success and great way to kick-start the new season, thanks to volunteers who made it happen, the association admits that preparation for the eight-week schedule has had its ups and downs.
“[We] have been met with a few challenges this year including lower volunteerism for many age groups, and changes to field availability,” they stated.
The club runs on volunteers, with approximately 75 teams needing coaches and assistant coaches to guide practices and matches. Thanks to the dedication and passion from these volunteers, the WLYSA became recognized as a Quality Soccer Provider under Canada Soccer regulations over the winter, one of just 70 clubs across the country to receive the title in the past year. The association provides all volunteers with Respect in Sport training, practice plans and the option for Canada Soccer training.
“[We] will be looking to engage more with volunteers this year to see what can be done to welcome more parents into the spirit as coaches,” the WLYSA said.
All soccer groups will be affected by field availability this year, as the Esler Soccer Fields committee continues to deal with water problems within the complex. Ongoing water pressure issues and breakdowns of equipment over the past three years has caused challenges for the committee and athletes leading to much of the equipment needing to be replaced. Water is critical to the soccer leagues and WLYSA’s operations as a whole, and $50,000 needs to be invested into the system this year to ensure the facility will run smoothly for the league and much more well into the future.
In collaboration with the Williams Lake men’s and ladies soccer associations, the WLYSA will be bringing forward fundraisers to the community in hopes of raising the necessary funds to complete the water system, as well as other projects around the complex.
“It will be the first time in a long time that the soccer community will need to reach out for more help to keep the facility running,” they stated. “In the meantime, it will be a balancing act to maintain two fields for full time action, and a third for part-time game play.”
The fourth field still needs more time to recover from last year and is slated to be ready for action by June.
Despite the challenges, the WLYSA is still excited to get its spring season rolling. It has full rep rosters in many age groups this year. They had six teams participate in the Quesnel GoldPan Tournament earlier last month, and will have around eight teams participating in tournaments throughout the rest of the year, such as the Slurpee Cup in Kamloops later this month.
The WLYSA will also be hosting the Cariboo Youth Soccer Association district league games on June 2.
READ MORE: PHOTO GALLERY: Williams Lake Youth Soccer culminates with year-end jamboree
