Pearl Lorentzen
Lakeside Leader

“We really prevailed through some crummy weather,” says TinaMarie Ritter, president of the Slave Lake Minor Soccer Association.

However, despite the weather it was a good season, she adds.

“There’s lots of kids who like to play soccer,” says Ritter.

Around 173 kids took part in the 2022 Slave Lake outdoor soccer season.

In 2022, kids had two choices for soccer. The Soccer Association ran a non-competitive league. There was a new competitive option, organized by a community member.

The majority of the non-competitive soccer program was younger kids. Slave Lake soccer had 60 – U5, 40 – U7, 42 – U9, and enough players for four U11 teams. However, the older two groups (U13 and U15) had to be combined.

“We’re thinking moving forward we might stick with the younger kids,” says Ritter.

This would be U11 and younger.

At the moment, the biggest need for Slave Lake soccer is for more board members. Board members are busy year round.

Coaches volunteer during the indoor or outdoor season. Slave Lake soccer has around four coaches who volunteer each year.

“Coaches were an issue,” Ritter says. “We ended up with just enough. We had a bunch of coaches who were new.”

The provincial association that oversees soccer is considering requiring all coaches to have accreditation.

This isn’t super long – five hours of online training and an in-person (or by submitted video) practicum.

However, it could make it even harder for rural soccer clubs to find coaches, says Ritter. The decision will be made in the next while. Once the provincial association makes its decision, Slave Lake soccer will make its plan for an indoor season (Nov. and Dec.) and the outdoor season next May and June.