It's time to add school soccer

Dear Editor,

I don’t know who needs to hear this – but soccer is big in Sanders County. And the kids that play – they’re really good!

I help coach the senior girls soccer team at Clark Fork Soccer – a club soccer program in Plains, Thompson Falls, St. Regis, Superior, and Hot Springs. I’m tremendously lucky to have talented players, a committed team of coaches, good quality facilities, and supportive parents and families. It’s easy to be a great coach when so many are so committed to excellence.

We SHOULD be proud of these kids – I know I am. This group of girls is handing out beat-downs regularly to JV-teams from big towns around western Montana. They have beaten Whitefish JV three times in the past year (Whitefish girls took second at State in 2022). They’ve beaten other class A powerhouses Columbia Falls, Hamilton, and Stevensville. For the fall 2023 season the senior girls team has a perfect 12-0-0 record and a goal differential of +73.

I know what you’re thinking: “Come on Nick! It’s just JV Soccer,” and you’d be right - all of this means less because these girls can’t play against varsity soccer. In Montana, club teams like Clark Fork can’t regularly play varsity opponents because we’re not a school sport. And no – there is no other level to play at, there are no other leagues, there are no other opponents. Essentially our U19 teams are playing U16 soccer every fall because we can’t access the only U19 league.

Truth be told – most of the games that we play aren’t very fair. I’ve stopped keeping track of how many goals we win by and instead am keeping track of when we let our foot off the throttle. In our last game against Whitefish JV, we scored before Whitefish even touched the ball. We had 3 goals within 10 minutes and we finished the game playing 9 vs 11 just to make it challenging for our players.

Without a school sanctioning us, we only get to play the JV teams, and only if those schools feel up to it. Just today Hellgate JV canceled their game with us – probably our most anticipated game of the season. And it happens frequently: so far in Fall of 2023 we’ve had 10 games canceled.

Make no mistake, we won’t know how good we are until we are playing the best. And the next best teams can't compete with us. That’s why I’m asking our schools to again consider adding soccer as a school sport, to serve the kids in our community who love the game of soccer and want to represent their schools across the region.

Just like many other youth sports, the sport of soccer has a positive impact on the lives of these kids. I’ve seen it help kids out of trouble, motivate kids to improve their grades, teach kids how to work hard and how to be a good teammate. It supports the economy of our small towns and brings us together as a community.

It is long past time that the communities of Plains and Thompson Falls put aside old thinking and recognize that the sport of soccer is thriving here in Sanders County. That these kids are good at this sport should be celebrated for their success.

It is time to add soccer as a school sport.

Sincerely,

Nick Lawyer, Plains

U19 Girls Soccer Coach