The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
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READY FOR ACTION
Local soccer league hopes to grow as new season starts Saturday
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 10, 2008
There will be plenty of new features with the Manchester Soccer Association this spring, but the hope for continued growth in the community remains.
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The organization's spring 2008 travel league season kicks off Saturday with a series of games at the Manchester High School athletic complex.
The travel league will feature six soccer teams comprised of players from the Village of Manchester and the surrounding townships competing in four age brackets. The MSA will have both a boys and girls team competing at the 10-U level, while four other teams, two boys and two girls, will represent the organization in the 12-U division.
MSA travel teams will also compete against new competition this spring. After playing in the Southeast Michigan Soccer Association against teams from Lenawee County in past seasons, the MSA joined the Central Michigan Soccer Association this year. According to MSA President John Collins, the CMSA features around 60 teams ranging from the 10-U division to 18-U based around the Jackson area.
"It's one of the more established leagues and could give us better competition," Collins said. "There are more teams to compete against in Jackson."
Tryouts for the spring travels teams took place last fall. For the previous five years, the MSA has offered a fall recreation league for players younger than the 10-U division, which drew around 200 players last year. Most of the players who will compete this spring will make up the rosters of the 10-U teams, while many of the 10-U players from last year will move up to the 12-U teams.
The MSA had two teams bring home championships during the fall season. The organization's 12-U boys team won its division title in the SEMSA league, while the 10-U girls team captured a CMSA fall tournament. Another girls team represented the MSA in an indoor soccer league over the winter.
"We have some talented kids playing on the boys and girls teams and have a really strong base at the 12-U level," Collins said. "Every year the league is growing stronger and getting more competitive, which is why we wanted to play in the Jackson league."
Collins biggest hope for the future is for the MSA to continue growing and keeping area kids interested in soccer. The organization is moving closer to adding a 14-U team for next fall, which would give the current 12-U players a chance to further develop their skills in order to compete at higher levels in the sport.
"We want to keep offering age brackets as the kids go along," Collins said. "We have the strong 12-U group and want to make soccer an option for them as they get older. Soccer is a growing sport and we want to let the kids keep progressing."
The MSA eventually wants to continue growing in order to spark interest at Manchester High School for adding soccer as a varsity sport for both boys and girls. Collins and members of the organization are willing to take "baby steps" to see if anything pans out on that front.
"It would have to be supported by all involved to head in that direction," Collins said. "Having a team at the high school level is the ultimate goal, but we'll work through the appropriate channels."
The association also runs several soccer camps throughout the spring and summer. The Rob Miller Camp draws about 75 kids throughout the Manchester community each June. Miller, the head coach of the men's soccer team at Anderson University and Olympic Development Committee member runs the camp in conjunction with the MSA. The Detroit Ignition also works with the association for a camp in the summer.
"The professional players train and evaluate the kids," Collins said.
The MSA started out as just a recreational league in 2002, but has grown significantly over the past six years. Much of the success, according to Collins, comes from the volunteers and parents serving on the association's board, including treasurer Cindy Dresch and Vice President Brent VanVuuren.
"Our board is strong, and there's about four or five parents who've been with us since day one," Collins said. "Brent does a ton of work running the recreation league and coordinating the camps. The parents help a lot, and that's a tribute to the volunteers in Manchester."
The board conducts meetings the fourth Monday of every month at the Manchester Village Hall. Everyone is welcome to attend and offer his or her input.
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