Super day of Soccer
Over the years, there have been plenty of youth soccer tournaments conducted throughout the TIMES NEWS coverage area. However, there might have never been a tournament like the inaugural Carbon County Soccer Cup tournament that will be held at the Beltzville State Park this Saturday.
Typically these types of soccer tournaments tend to take place at the end of regular season, they consist of players and teams from just that sole area, and the athletes that are "all-stars" from that particular league.
However, this tourney breaks away from that mold by combining the teams from the youth soccer programs of Lehighton, Jim Thorpe, Panther Valley and Towamensing Soccer Clubs. The expected number of participants should get near around six hundred players and obviously took a lot of time, preparation and planning.
Brian Morgan, one of the tournament directors, recently spoke about the amount of time that has been put into this event.
"The cooperation so far has been excellent," Morgan said. "We have been getting together for the past several months to talk about sponsorships, rules, division set ups and things like that. It has continued to be a work in progress. But every club has kind of 'checked their egos at the door,' and since it's for the kids, it seems to be a really good idea that hopefully we can continue to do in future years."
On Saturday morning, play will begin at 9 a.m. at Beltzville with a pool play format. "We have an estimated 53 teams included from the four different leagues," Morgan said. "So roughly six hundred kids will be playing in this tournament, which I think is incredible."
The tournament will consist of four divisions: U-6, U-8, U-10 and U-12. It is a co-ed tournament.
Based on their record in pool play, the top teams will advance to the playoff round where there will be a four-team, single-elimination tournament in each division.
The pool play portion of the tournament is projected to be completed around noon time. The playoff round should go from approximately 12:30-2 p.m. with the awards ceremony to follow.
With so many athletes playing on that day, there is expected to be plenty of people in attendance.
"Beltzville has estimated that about one thousand to fifteen hundred people will be there," Morgan stated. "We'd like to thank the state park for allowing us to hold the tournament there. They're wonderful up there and they're all about the kids."
Other notable people that have contributed to the potential success of the day are Gil Peroni, the President of the Towamensing Soccer Club, JD Light, the President of Lehighton Soccer, Joe Galvin, the President of Jim Thorpe Soccer, and Jeff Kattner, a Board Member of the Panther Valley Soccer Club.
"Everyone seems to be really cooperative and supportive," Morgan commended. "Without the approval and funding of these groups, none of this would be possible. Also, all of the parents of the players need to be thanked, as well. We're adding a week onto the end of everyone's season, so they are volunteering their time and efforts and it is greatly appreciated."
Another familiar charity, the Bo Tkach Memorial Foundation, is also playing a part in the development of the event.
"We're trying to bring about awareness of child and adolescent mental illnesses," Morgan said. "Any money that is not used will all be donated to that foundation."
