The face of the future of local girls soccer was beaming last Saturday, as the ‘Bolts turned in one of their best games of the season and blasted the Nanaimo Purple Crush 6-2 off goals from four different players.
“The girls are playing great ... goooooo Lightning Bolts,” one proud parent piped up on the sidelines.
There was no rain Saturday; it was on the chilly side, but still a great day for footy, and the little Lightning Bolts had come to play.
Meriana Spicer led the scoring with a hat trick, and Megan McCrae, Charlotte Palmer, and Kylie Kiefer chipped in with a marker each. It was Kylie’s first goal of the year.
“She’s a keen player,” ‘Bolts coach Kevin Spicer said of Kylie, who was on a mission Saturday.
“She gets really excited around the net ... she’s bursting with energy and it was nice that she got it (her first goal).
“It was a good game,” agreed the coach. “We’ve had such a long break because of the frozen ground, but they’re starting to pick it up now,” pointing out the side is having fun and getting better every week.
“We have 19 players on our team and they all get along very well, supporting each other, challenging each other in practices and having a great time,” said Spicer, adding the U11 NDYSA league has been quite good this year with three quite strong teams in Nanaimo and the rest of the league more balanced.
“Our record so far is five wins, five losses and a tie, but I coach with developing players in mind at this age rather than worrying about our record,” said Spicer, a PE teacher at KSS.
“I want them to learn ball handling skills, defensive and offensive tactics, team play, but most importantly, they have a lot of fun and come back year after year. We lose a lot of girls once they hit 14 years old, so with a strong foundation we can keep the girls coming back ‘till High School and beyond.”
GAME ON
The Lightning Bolts are back in action Saturday at the new turf fields in Ladysmith and return home Feb. 13 at Arrowview Elementary School against the Blue Crush from Nanaimo.