It was a stunningly beautiful sunny weekend on March 16 and 17 in Surrey as the annual Mayors Cup filled every possible field, both turf and grass, with U7 to U17 boys and girls and a rumoured 300 teams taking part this year. The Storm were not alone as other teams from the Coast made their way literally everywhere in Surrey to play soccer against city teams. After winning their division before the winter holiday break, the boys fell victim to the snow and had weeks of no games so were eager to make this weekend count.
With the three teams they were to face this weekend all Gold No. 1 level teams, a level above the Storm, and winners of their respective divisions, the Storm coaches prepared the boys for a tough weekend with some realistic expectations and the desire for them to just play well. Out of the gate in game 1 though there seemed a cohesive energy rarely seen in sports – the Storm boys were coordinated, synced with each other and could move the ball better than they ever have, defeating the first gold team, Coquitlam Dortmund, in penalties and sending them home in awe of this Coastal phenomenon. Game 2 later the same day was another high-level team, the Surrey Rangers, and the Storm were still on high alert as to what was needed to challenge the best. And there was no stopping the Storm as they fought harder with each minute to finally defeat them in the last 20 minutes after moving fields due to an unfortunate injury from a Rangers player. Two games down, two wins for the Storm, clearly this was looking like another remarkable weekend.
Day two and game 3 on Sunday looked like the challenge of the weekend as the best team in the Gold No. 1 division were on the other side of the field, the Surrey United Impact. It looked like the time to learn the next level had arrived as the Impact were a machine, showing the Storm what was needed to rise to this level. And rise they did as the Storm held on for a scoreless first half and it was only through some unlucky mistakes and obvious talent from the Impact that they lost in the second half. The Storm showed so much fight and tenacity that it was merely a learning experience that will surely be used in the future.
Which leads us to game 4 and the finale for the weekend with the Storm playing strong and clearly not intimidated by any other team’s records from the regular season. The last team was the Wesburn Galaxy from Burnaby and they too had a talented pool on display but not even remotely the same spirit as the Storm. This was a battle of the ages, a time for an all-out blitz of everything the coaches have taught them throughout the year. In the last few minutes of the game after many fantastic pushes into the Galaxy end by the Storm, but looking like it might go to penalties to decide the game, the total teamwork from defence through midfield into the front line attack led to a truly brilliant goal by Tayio Blackwell and a sweet victory to cap off a weekend beyond words from the Storm FC.
Seeing this kind of development in a group of players is truly inspiring and it should make the city very nervous – nervous for the Sunshine Coast U15 Storm FC that will surely wreak havoc everywhere they let them play soccer next year.
– By Patrick Fitzsimons
