School soccer is the goal

The Clark Fork Soccer Alliance is grateful for the Ledger's coverage of soccer in the county. Annie Wooden's words of support in the Sept. 28 Ledger were especially welcome.

I have never fancied myself a soccer person but I have grown to respect the sport almost as much as my first love, basketball. The parallels between the two sports are intriguing.

Since moving to Thompson Falls sixteen years ago, I have been involved with the local soccer program as a program coordinator, registrar, parent, fan, and most recently as the assistant coach of the Clark Fork girls U-19 soccer team, a combined group of 20 teenagers from Plains, St. Regis, and Thompson Falls. There is also a boys team with 24 total players from Plains and Thompson Falls coached by Josh Allday.

The girls just finished an undefeated season (11-0) under the thoughtful and dedicated head coaching of Nick Lawyer. The core players have been developing together for years and are competing against mostly JV teams from Class A schools. They are beating their opponents by six goals per game, on average. They are a talented bunch.

Soccer players are tough. They run miles at a time, every time they practice, every time they play a game. They are fit and fierce. They get kicked, shoved, and tripped, and have the bruises to prove it. I see first-hand how physical a game it is. Their commitment to their sport is beyond admirable. They love it and their passion for the game is contagious.

Community support for soccer is growing and the Clark Fork Soccer Alliance is currently advocating for soccer to be added as a school-sanctioned varsity sport during future fall seasons. Both school boards (Plains and Thompson Falls) have been approached about the idea of having a co-op team. This would allow both the boys and girls teams to play varsity level opponents and give them better competition. A full detailed proposal was developed and presented to both school boards about one year ago. Last November, the Plains school board voted (3-2) against pursuing the addition of the sport, which halted the progression in Thompson Falls. Despite the setback, the efforts will continue. Adding sports and co-ops with neighboring school districts has precedent. Most recently, Plains added baseball as a co-op sport with Hot Springs last year. And the Thompson Falls board just approved baseball as a co-op sport with Noxon last week at the October board meeting.

The soccer program has infrastructure, participation numbers, coaching, fundraising efforts and volunteerism already in place. These committed soccer athletes deserve the same recognition and publicity as other athletes. They deserve the pride of representing their school on the pitch while their peers and community members cheer them on. They deserve more competitive games so they can be challenged and reach their greatest potential. They are asking for this. The players themselves are all in on this effort.

Please join us in supporting the growing sport of soccer in our community.

Katrina Nygaard,

Thompson Falls