ESA breaks seal on regular-season
play
By Jon Clark
STAR CORRESPONDENT
This past Saturday, with the hectic pace of the
jamboree a memory, regular-season play settled in for the
Elizabethton Soccer Association.
The fields, still brown and dusty from drought,
hosted hundreds of players eager to exercise their ballhandling
prowess and athletic abilities.
Soccer moms (and dads, and grandparents, and
sisters and brothers) gathered on the sidelines to cheer their
teams.
Play for the young teams (under six-U6) doesn't
resemble soccer, but rather herds of children clad in two
different colors, feet swinging in the air.
An occasional ball might escape from the children's
twitching feet, but the herd quickly catches up to it and
the ball once again disappears within the greedy feet of the
children. Cheers from proud parents are often drowned out
by their laughter as players fall, trip, stumble and collide.
U8 soccer (players under eight) resembles the
U6 play at times but the ball escapes the herd more often.
Many of the children have learned basic ballhandling skills
such as dribbling, passing and shooting, and their game resembles
what adults think of as soccer.
The U10 players often have good ballhandling
skills and the players have a much better understanding of
the game. Athletic abilities and strength are growing; the
speed of players has increased, making the play more intense
and competitive. There is a wide array of ability and skill,
with many of the players having soccer experience.
U12 soccer is the oldest age bracket played at
Doe River Gorge. Many of these players have been kicking a
soccer ball around for years, and their skills are quite good.
Some have professional coaching.
Herd playing (the players all chasing the ball
around as one group) has been replaced by passing, dribbling
and team play. Players understand their positions and some
strategy may be used, and jubilant cheers reward competent
play.
Next time the focus will be on the U15 and U16
teams and will feature interviews with the team's coaches.
