The major winter storm which fit the Midwest posed travel problems for thousands Thursday and Friday, among them players, parents and coaches of four Iowa ODP teams headed to warmer climes in an effort to get the outdoor season under way.
    Such are the opportunities for Iowa’s soccer elite that a number of Iowa City players spent the weekend representing their state in prestigious tournaments in Arizona and Florida.
    The 1984 birth year girls took part in the first national playoff tournament for regional ODP champions, while the 1985 boys competed for the Presidents Cup, both in Phoenix.
    Across the country, the 1984 and 1986 boys teams played in the under-16 and under-14 Presidents Cup in Cocoa Beach, Fla., just up the road from Walt Disney World.
    As recently as two or three years ago, it would have been very unusual for Iowa City players to have even gotten the chance to play in such exotic locations, let alone compete on equal terms.
    It says much for the ever-improving standard within the state, and at the local level.
    I’m sure that the teams competing in Arizona gave a good account of themselves. I know that the two teams playing down in Florida certainly did.
    The ’84 boys team, very much a pioneering group in the travel stakes, given their trip to Europe in 1998, finished the Presidents Cup with a 2-1 record. Two solid performances in victories over Westchester Force, Pa., (4-1) and Palm Bay Lions, Fla., (4-2) paled against the outstanding display against the national under-16 club runners-up, the Palm Beach (Fla.) Kicks, in a 3-0 defeat.
    The Kicks team housed national, regional and state team players in a high quality lineup that had tremendous skill and lightning pace throughout. And while losing only 3-0 was a fabulous effort, the score had been tied at 0-0 with more than an hour played. A dubious penalty kick decision and two goals conceded in the last five minutes put a rather harsh score line on what was a very pleasing effort. A fantastic learning experience for the players though, and one which the players can look back on with much pride.
    The ‘86s, meanwhile, swept all before them in downing the Brevard (Fla.) Ambush (3-0), the Voorhees (N.J.) Lightning (6-0) and the Universitario Ciervas (Mexico) (14-1) in group play, before taking the title with a 4-1 win over Centro Universitario (Mexico).
    I must say these weren’t the strongest teams I’ve seen, but for a group together for the first time, the ‘86s showed enough promise in all departments to suggest that their busy summer schedule, including tournaments in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois, along with a late summer tour to Europe, should be worth looking forward to.
    It’s worth remembering that there’s always someone out there better than you, and with this in mind, the various ODP teams are certainly doing their bit to find out who and where these teams are.

Home | What's New | Alliance Information | Calendar / Schedules | Events / Programs
Kixx | Tournaments | Merchandise | Features | Forms | Links | Feedback