This past weekend was filled with soccer across three different locations as Eastman Youth Soccer League held their year-end tournaments in four different age groups, once again showing how the sport continues to grow across the province.
"It's a big event for us, the EYSL season-end tournament," explains Brian Froese, President and Chair of Hanover Soccer Club. "Steinbach hosted the U13 and U18 age groups, Beausejour had the U11 and Niverville at the U15 age groups."
Hosting those events in Steinbach and other communities is a big deal and Froese says it shows how much people care about the sport. "First and foremost, we need a place that can hold the amount of kids that are coming together to duke it out one final time. So, obviously we need communities that have the space and the ability to do that. It's all for the greater good of the game and just the Eastman Youth League, it's a great opportunity to showcase the work of the players, coaches and everyone involved. We get to come together one last time and play in a jamboree style tournament that crowns a champion. The tournament is based off the season-league standings, teams get placed in different parts of the schedule and eventually a winner comes out of each age group.
Froese details the winners of the U18 and U13 age groups. "The U18 group, the final was Steinbach vs Anola and it was Anola that came out the victor. In the U13 group, we had two different teams, a U13 girls and U13 boys mixed group because some communities don't have enough boys and girl players, so they mix them together. With the U13 girls, Steinbach came out the winner beating Mitchell in the finals of a very exciting game that came down to penalty shootout. The U13 boys, Steinbach also came out on top, beating Niverville in the finals."
Looking out over the larger view of the sport, Froese says it's pretty amazing to see the numbers and how it continues to grow. "We have bounced back from the COVID shutdown and the growth has been great. We're up once again in numbers from last year and for us, our club, we had around 500 kids registered in the program, if we include the kids that are going into the Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association league, the more competitive league, we're closer to 550 kids that we've registered just in our Hanover Soccer Club in Steinbach, it's very exciting."
Another feather in the cap for the Hanover Soccer Club is a group of special guests are coming out in a few weeks and they're travelling quite a long way to get here, which Froese says proves how respected the programs are. "We're once again privileged to host Valencia CF football club from Valencia, Spain. They're going to come do a soccer camp during the third week of July. The fact we have a club that is willing to come all the way to Steinbach and host a soccer clinic, it's phenomenal. It's a testament to the growth that we've had and we're experiencing. Also this year for us, we've had the opportunity to send seven teams to Winnipeg, which is a new record for us, meaning there are a lot of kids looking to go beyond just the two months of the Eastman Youth League and strive to play longer. The Winnipeg league is an eight or nine month season, running from spring to fall. For us, that's heart warming personally and as a club. It's a real testament of the hard work that goes into it."
Looking into the future, Froese says the obvious need is an indoor facility and he believes the numbers show how needed it is. "We need it, plain and simple," he says with a laugh but also a serious tone. "We would love to see that as the next step. With the Event Centre now complete, we're hopeful that city council and members at large will see that with the growth of the game, there's a growing need for a place to play indoor. Right now, we're using school gyms and that's really difficult to get space as there are plenty of school programs, as well. We're also leading up to the World Cup next year. Canada is part of the hosting group and that's the pinnicale of soccer here in Canada and North America, frankly the world. So, we're gearing up for that and we're not quite sure what were going to do in preparation for that, but it's an exciting moment. On top of that, we have new initiatives from the Canada Soccer Association, rolling out grassroots programing, making it easier for everyone to strive for more competitiveness and love of the game."
Lots on the go and while the season may be short, the work of Brian Froese and many others will keep working to grow the game of soccer in the area.