OLDS — Olds Minor Soccer Association vice-president Cody Craig is hoping to build on the success of a massive soccer tournament the community hosted late last month.
The one-day event, held June 24 at Rotary Athletic Park involved about 400 kids, plus many of those kids’ parents and relatives. About 15 referees kept things in line too.
In that tournament, the Olds U19 A team and 11 B team each won gold. The Olds U15 A team took him silver, as did the Olds U13 B team.
The tournament served as district finals for Big Country Soccer Association (BCSA), the first time Olds has ever hosted those districts, according Craig who is also president of that organization.
“I think the last time Big Country actually did districts with the older kids was six, seven years ago. It was a long time ago,” he said during an interview with the Albertan.
The event also served as a wind-up event for U9 players in the Olds Minor Soccer Association (OMSA).
Craig says the day was such a success that he’s not only thinking of hosting that event again next year, but also possibly hosting a tournament to kick off the 2024 season.
Craig said he proposed the idea of hosting the district competition last November when he became BCSA president because there are so many teams in the organization.
A berth in the districts with a chance to go further if they win gives players something to aim for all season.
“That was one of the things I said. We need kind of a big bang tournament, something that gets the kids looking towards something,” he said.
“They're really fighting to get in those positions. And it makes it really exciting.”
Craig said with all the soccer pitches at Rotary Athletic Park – not to mention others in town, plus the many hotels and motels in the community, Olds is the perfect place to host a big tournament like the Districts.
This year, as organizer, Craig crammed the entire event into one day.
Now he’s thinking that was a bit much – for exhausted kids and for parents who spent the day watching all the action. The final U 17/19 game didn’t end until around 10 p.m.
As a result, next year’s event might go two to three days.
The BCSA covers a wide swath of territory, so it would be to caregivers’ advantage to stay overnight, rather than making the drive back and forth, Craig indicated.
In addition to Olds, other communities in that area include Bowden, Sundre, Carstairs, Didsbury, and Cremona. It goes as far south as Cochrane, northeast to Hanna and east to Drumheller and Three Hills.
The final U 17/19 game was incredible.
Not only was it tight (Olds eventually beat Hanna, 3-1) but there was drama in the sky as well.
“It was a battle,” Craig said. “It was – bang, it was 10 o'clock at night. And the lightning just flashed overhead. The thunder was right behind it and you could hear the watches of the officials start buzzing. It was perfect.”
“And those are big kids," he added. "Some of them are like adults, and it's insane watching them play and how fast and powerful they are. It was great.”
Craig said it took about two weeks to organize the BCSA districts while Olds Minor Soccer executive director Ivo Toellner organized the U9 windup.
“It was awesome. We had volunteers from Olds Minor Soccer cooking hot dogs, which was really nice,” Craig said, adding they also had lots of support from sponsors.
