Youth soccer players impress at tryouts

The local under-12 developmental soccer program headed by Sarah Noonan, with help from Rick Chambers, recently returned from the regional tryouts in Thunder Bay, and 11 of the 20 kids made enough of an impression to stick with the regional team through its tryouts this winter.
“I was hoping maybe a couple kids would make it, but having 11 really exceeded my expectations,” Noonan enthused.
“The boys’ competition was really, really strong out of Kenora and Thunder Bay, and we didn’t win a game with them [played three games],” she added. “But even from each game we played, they improved and it was definitely a learning experience.”
The girls, meanwhile, won three of their four games, including a pair of wins over Dryden and a win and a loss to the host Thunder Bay squad.
The 11 kids (eight girls and three boys) who got invites now will enter the first phase of the regional program, meaning they’ll be training one weekend a month in Thunder Bay during the fall and winter.
Then after January, those who have continued to impress will be invited back for phase two.
“The under-12 kids work with the region and prepare for the year, and then at 13 you go and compete provincially,” Noonan noted. “There are seven different regions in Ontario, and a year from now they’ll compete against the other regions.”
Noonan and Chambers have been running weekly practices every Saturday over the summer—and the extra effort appeared to pay off in spades.
Soccer continues to be a cheaper alternative to get kids active, and having the opportunity to train throughout the winter will go a long way in furthering the development of youth soccer here in Fort Frances.
“I think we’ll probably take a break until school starts and then start things up again at that time,” Noonan said.
“I still have to talk to the regional coach, but he’ll definitely want us to keep working with them,” she added.