When the 19 Kaua‘i soccer players left for Europe, hardware was the last thing on their mind. But on their return Tuesday evening, the soccer players came home with a load of medals including a gold medal from the Dana
When the 19 Kaua‘i soccer players left for Europe, hardware was the last thing on their mind.
But on their return Tuesday evening, the soccer players came home with a load of medals including a gold medal from the Dana Cup played in Denmark, a silver medal and two third place finishes from the Gothia Cup played in Sweden.
Kevin Gusman, one of the two coaches who accompanied the youngsters, said the trip was a good experience for the Kaua‘i players.
“It’s not about winning,” coach Kevin Devitt said on their return from the European tour. “If we come back improved as players and as human beings, then the trip was successful.”
Devitt said the group was broken up to form four girls teams, a U13, U14, U15 and U17, with one boys team.
In Denmark, the girls U13 team struck gold to set the stage for the Gothia Cup where some of the members from the U13 squad played up with the U14 team and finished with a silver medal.
Devitt said two other teams finished in third place, but unfortunately, no hardware is presented for third place. That included the boys team and one of the girls’ teams.
“The trip is not focussed on winning,” Devitt said. “It is to develop players and for players to improve.”
In this light, Devitt said the trip provided good experience for all the players.
“They played well,” he said. “Considering how hot it was in California and with just four days of practice together as a team, they came together well.”
Devitt said all of the players did an amazing job of stepping up to the European level of physical play.
“It’s interesting how they all adjusted to that higher level,” Devitt said, noting that Dylan Snyder, one of the Kaua‘i players, was “a different player.”
During the tournaments, the players were allowed to “play up” and some of the U15 players merged with the U17 team for the Gothia Cup.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t do that well, but afterwards, we found out that we were up against the Scottish champions,” Devitt said. “They have four girls on that team that have full-ride scholarships to play soccer, so it wasn’t that bad.”
The Gothia Cup is one of the largest international soccer tournaments in the world, Devitt said.
As such, to break out of pool play, the teams have to play hard. It is not unusual to have 150 teams just in one pool, he said.
The Gothia Cup attracts about 1,500 teams from around the world.
“We went to play,” Devitt told one of the appreciative parents. “And, we got some luck along the way.”
Devitt is already looking ahead to the summer of 2007 when he hopes to bring another contingent of players and people interested in planning for this can contact him as early as the next time he’s on the field.
