New soccer tournament to be played in Ketchum
In the fall, thoughts turn from boating and swimming to team sports, especially soccer (football, in the rest of the world). And the Wood River Valley community is not letting school kids have all the fun. A new tournament, called the Sun Valley 7’s soccer tournament, will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept.18 at Atkinson Park in Ketchum.
Each 10-player team, consisting of adults 18 years and older, will play, with seven players per side afield at a time. There are two separate divisions, with eight teams competing in either the Competitive division or the Rec division. The Rec division requires no more than five players under the age of 50 on the field at a time.
Tournament director Pete Woodring is no stranger to soccer; he played at the University of California, Berkeley, and professionally in Europe, and with Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution. He also played with the U.S. national team in 1993.
“With all of the soccer interest in the Valley, Sun Valley is the ideal location for an adult soccer tournament,” Woodring said. “It’s also a destination for many visitors and, ideally, this will grow and become a weekend-long destination, seven-aside adult soccer tournament, for teams from other states.”
The tournament is unique having only seven players per side playing on a half field with 15-minute halves.
“The premise is to relive the younger days of our soccer lives on smaller fields and shorter games, while raising money for youth soccer in the Valley,” said Woodring.
All proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Sawtooth United Footbol Club, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth soccer club for 5-18 year olds in the Wood River Valley, founded by Community School soccer coach Richard Whitelaw in 1997.
“To say Richard is passionate about soccer is an understatement,” Woodring said. “It is the mission of the Sawtooth United FC to encourage the physical, mental and emotional growth of the youth of the Wood River Valley through the sport of soccer. The club strives to enhance the players’ skills and to promote a lifelong love of soccer, while developing knowledge of commitment, self-discipline, sportsmanship and teamwork.”
The winning team will receive the title of the first Sun Valley 7’s tournament champion, and will also receive ‘Das Boot’ – a large glass boot that will have the team’s winning name etched on it and will be housed at Lefty’s Bar & Grill in Ketchum where the winning team can drink from it for the year.
According to the website truebeer.com, beer boots have been around for at least 150 years. The website also states that around “World War I, the German military adopted the use of beer boots as a popular rite of passage. Military commanders are reported to have promised to drink for a boot if a battle was won.”
Entry fee is $350 and includes at least three games per team, a barbecue, beverages and music.
Registration deadline is Monday, Sept. 12. For more information, call Woodring at (415) 269-3859, or pete@cypresspart.com, or www.sawtoothunited.com.