Major Beach Soccer Feature
Friday, July 12, 2013
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Clearwater Major Beach Soccer Tournament got off to a flying start despite some light showers on Friday. Four fields of nonstop action kicked off at 10 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m., and Saturday the adults will get underway and all six fields will be packed from sunup to sundown. 
Friday on the stadium field the Fox Chase Red Devils and the Sand Huskies played a thrilling, physical match. The Red Devils prevailed 8-3, with Kevin Walls bagging the fatal goal on a great header from a set piece, but the Sand Huskies had their fair share of chances as well. Fox Chase is a club based out of Philadelphia that has been sending teams down to Clearwater for 15 years.
“We’ve been doing this longer than I can remember. It’s a rite of passage for our guys. As soon as they’re old enough they can come down and play,” Head Coach Lou Vessels said. “It’s a lot of fun. You definitely don’t have to ask the kids twice. It’s a great vacation and you get to play some sand soccer.”
The Sand Huskies are a local Clearwater/St. Petersburg team made of a mixture of high school and club friends. A rival of sorts with the Sand Vipers, the two clubs split when one outgrew the other.
“It’s exciting to be out here. The kids always have fun. This is our third Clearwater tournament and our second under this team name. The group that came the first year just got too big!” Huskies Coach Patrick Schroder said.
On another field about an hour later the U16 girls began their day. The pun-intended Goal Diggers took a hard knock as they dropped their first match but they didn’t let it dampen their spirits.
“We are just having fun...we got the name off the internet,” one player laughed and shrugged.
“It’s really cool to be able to play out here. All the girls enjoy it, but playing on the sand takes a lot out of you,” Coach Sal van Deutekom said.
The early rain didn’t hold back any of the players and the games were well played on both ends.
“It was a great start," Major Beach Soccer Director Peter Mellor said. "The early rain helped I think, it really cooled things down. Everything was fantastic and I look forward to more of the same.”
Saturday promises to be another bright day on the beach. Registration for the Ft. Myers tournament in two weeks is still open at www.majorbeachsoccer.com.