The Lake City Secondary School Thunder are competing at the North Central Zone AAA Senior Boys Soccer Championships on Sunday, Oct. 29.
Coach Sean Glanville said they are playing in Prince George against North Peace Secondary from Fort Saint John, with two games on Sunday, and possibly one on Monday.
“It’s a best of three game series, so the first team to win two games will essentially win the zones and go on to represent our zone at the provincials which are in Burnaby Nov. 23 to 25.”
He said he had no idea what to expect from North Peace. Most of the schools in the Cariboo are AA.
“They are a large school and will have a strong program for sure if they are going to travel all that way. It’ll be interesting to see.”
Soccer is a funny game and the best team does not always win, he added.
The team is excited to play at Masich Place Stadium at the University of Northern B.C. on the big turf field.
“It feels a little disappointing because I remember zone championships in my high school days when we had 13 or 14 teams. Now with all the tiers and amalgamations and lack of teams putting in programs it is what it is.”
Grade 11 student Mion Kinugasa is the team’s captain and said he has always liked soccer.
“I used to live in Abbotsford near a school and would just kick the ball around, but I was never on a team until I moved to Williams Lake five years ago.”
He also plays rep soccer outside of school and said when he joined rep he really started to get into the game.
Looking forward to zones he is hopeful for a win so he can make his family and friends proud.
Normally he plays centre mid, but will go wherever the coach tells him to.
“I like centre mid and being able to distribute to the team and let others have an opportunity to shine. Being a part of the game is just very fun.”
Playing against the men has provided the high school players a very good opportunity, he said.
“We don’t really get in a lot of games except two or three tournaments a year. I’ve been very thankful for the men coming here to play with us.”
Glanville said so far the season has been good as far as having committed players and regular practices.
“Even when it’s raining you see all 15/16 guys come out and it’s positive. I entered the season anticipating the worse scenario that we would have to scrape together a team and do my part for the school, but this year I’ve actually seen a lot of improvement and they are just really excited.”
The team’s first tournament was in Clearwater and only nine players were able to make it.
They finished fifth, losing their first three games and winning the last two.
For a tournament in Hope, the Williams Lake players amalgamated with 100 Mile players to form a team.
Again, they lost their first three games in the round robin, but won their last two, again finishing fifth.
Most of the players on the team are Grade 11s, with some in Grade 9 and one Grade 12, Danton Enns.
“Next year should be a really good year for us because everyone will be a year older and year stronger,” Glanville said.
On Tuesday, Oct. 24, the team was playing against a team from the men’s league and it was -5C with a windchill.
“This is our fifth game we’ve had with the men,” Glanville said. “The first game we got blown out 7-1, but now we are actually carrying the play and it’s a pretty evenly matched game. The last two games have been ties.”
Gerald Pinchbeck with the men’s league said they wanted give the high school players a chance to get some real game experience in a fun setting that challenges their skills and abilities.
“Over the course of the four weeks that we have played with them it’s been really great to watch these kids grow in their skills, grow in their confidence and actually pressure us as a men’s team,” he said. “They have been on the ball, making strong plays, getting the ball into our end and creating goal scoring opportunities and really gelling together as a team.”
The growth over the last week was “tremendous,” he added.
Going into the indoor men’s futsal league season, which starts on Nov.7, there are five teams with about 10 or 12 on each.
With more players expressing an interest in joining, Pinchbeck said they considering whether or not to add a sixth team.
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