Edge Soccer Club

The newly formed U11 Boys Black team had only five practices together before they were to participate in the 28^th Annual Colorado Storm Boys Classic Tournament the weekend of August 8-10. They knew going into this tournament that the results could set the stage for the rest of their season – it was sort of a test to see how 14 boys from different experiences and a new coach would come together as a team.

Playing teams from some of the top clubs in the state like Storm, Fusion, and Rocky Mountain Soccer Academy the boys knew they had their work cut out for them. However, it didn’t take long for the team to realize their potential. Each game they played proved that they were going to be a huge force in their division – a team to be reckoned with. Their fist three games in pool play the boys shut out two teams with commanding scores of 8-0 and only allowed one goal in another, ending the game 4-1. The team continued their dominance into their semi-final game with another shut out, winning 5-0. The final game was against Storm and after a hard fought match that led into a nail biting shootout, the boys were able to add one more win to their list to become champions of the U11 Silver Division. Throughout the tournament the team put an impressive total of 26 goals in their opponent’s net and only allowed 2 goals to be scored against them. They came back to Arvada from Englewood with their first trophy as a team but perhaps the bigger prize could be that they came home with stronger team bonds and a sense of confidence they didn’t have before.

Team members as pictured back row Tyler Knipp, Darien Huffman, Mitch McCormick, Coach Dan Millard, Andy Fendel, Josh Campbell, Luis Aguilar and front row Cooper Boeff, Hayden Hogoboom, Dylan Johnson, Nick Rosser, Paul Wills, Paul Elliott, Connor Bell, Hugo Diaz, all played well, fought hard, outplayed and outworked their opponents. Coached by Dan Millard the U11 Boys Black team showed that despite the small amount of time they had to get adjusted to playing on a larger field, with more players in new positions they were indeed able to come together as a team and perform beautifully.