St. Thomas Youth Soccer Association "Peacemakers" made a clean sweep in Tortola on Saturday.
As planned three different age groups of soccer players traveled to Tortola on Saturday to play the Tortola youth.
The under 10, under 12 and under 14 teams were prepared to test their abilities with the equivalent teams in Tortola. St. Thomas dominated.
The players, parents and coaches said that the St. Thomas Youth Soccer Association Executive Board and President Trevor Velinor did an outstanding job with the arrangements, making the trip a tremendous success, according to Tanya Ward Benjamin, spokesperson for the group.
The parents had an opportunity to interact with each other, the children and the coaches in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Usually time and schedules do not allow for this interaction, according to Benjamin.
" Parents are often rushing to collect children after practice to get home for dinner and the completion of homework,"she said.
The overall reaction from all those on the trip was that winning was wonderful but the feelings of unity and the friendships established made the name "Peacemakers" that much more meaningful, according to Benjamin.
" Soccer, like other sports, has the ability to bring together people of different racial, socio-economic, political and religious backgrounds to one level ground to work for the good of a common goal – winning and the improvement of skills and talents. It was heartwarming to see this positive element manifest itself so vividly during this trip," she said.
Games were officially organized for Saturday only . To maximize their use of the time in Tortola the Peacemakers arranged two games among their own teams on Sunday.
. The Tortola organization was able to pull a team of under-16 boys to play the St. Thomas under-14 team on Sunday. This game resulted in the only loss of the trip with Tortola winning 3-2. Goals for St. Thomas were scored by Max Hoffman and Jason Neuberger both of Antilles School. Neuberger was also borrowed from the Under-12 team.
Scores were as follows:
St. Thomas Youth Under 10 A team vs. Tortola Under 10 B …………..3-0
Adam Fuller – 2 (Montessori student)
Christo Demopoulos – 1 (Antilles student)
St. Thomas Youth Under 10 B team vs. Tortola Under 10 B …………..2-1
Zachary Nelthropp – 2 (Montessori student
St. Thomas Youth Under 12 vs. Tortola under 12 …………………. 3-1
Leshawn Lettsome – 2 (All Saints student)
Lueben Davis – 1 (Joseph Sibilly student)
Note – apparently the competition at this level was a bit stronger than at the under 10 level but with some effort, St. Thomas still won the game.
St. Thomas Youth Under 14 vs. Tortola Under 14
It is important to note that some players could not attend because they are Seventh Day Adventists, so the St. Thomas team had to "borrow" Under 12 player Demetri Maduro (Zion Academy 6th grader) to make up the required 11 players. This team played without substitutes but completely dominated with a 9-0 win.
Max Hoffman – 4 (Antilles student)
Malik Feracho -2 (Montessori student)
Laurence Bonelli – 1 (All Saints)
Kenroy Roberts – 1 (Dober – 6th grader)
Miles Davis -1 (All Saints)
(Tortola scored one on their own goal also)
For more information on this trip and St. Thomas Youth Soccer Association, contact:
Trevor Velinor – President – 693-2213
Steve Brusch – Competition Arrangements Committee – 776-2237
Coach Trip Dunville – under 10 – 776-2127
Coach Clifton Williams – under 14 – 776-1876
Coach Malcolm Grant –
PRO – Tanya Benjamin – 776-2105 or work 776-4844 ext. 262.
