Giddy Up Cup all around success for Calgary Minor Soccer Association
Improvement planned for 2013 Giddy Up Cup
Daryl Leinweber, wearing blue shirt, executive director of the Calgary Minor Soccer Association, says 2013 Giddy Up Cup will be even better. Photo: CMSA.
By Jessica Belbin
This past weekend’s Giddy Up Cup, hosted by the Calgary Minor Soccer Association was a huge success for teams and organizers.
Teams from Western Canada and Ontario traveled to Calgary to test their skills and hopefully walk away with some medals. 40 teams in total attended.
CMSA Executive Director Daryl Leinweber is delighted with how the tournament went this year.
“It was fantastic! We had perfect weather and a lot of very close games,” he said.
During the tournament coaches and players said they would take their experiences at the Giddy Up Cup and learn from them heading into the Alberta Provincials. Leinweber agrees the Giddy Up Cup is a stepping stone.
“The tournament gives the teams an opportunity to see where they stand prior to entering provincials and gives them a few weeks to correct where they feel weak,” he said.
As at any sports tournament fans in the stands could be heard making comments about the refereeing, but Leinweber says the feedback he got from teams and coaches was very positive.
“Teams commented on how good the quality of refereeing was overall in the tournament,” he said.
As well, the out of town teams had high praise for the Cup.
“(They said) it was a great tournament and great hospitality by Calgary. I think it shows the care and dedication of the volunteers and staff towards making the tournament a success,” Leinweber said.
With most games being very close, Leinweber says, “The teams were evenly matched in most of the divisions. We had a strong team from Winnipeg and hopefully next year we can give them stronger competition.”
The Rangers Club technical director Peter Malakoane says the ability of Calgary’s minor soccer players will grow with having more professionals as coaches.
“We have so much raw talent in this country. We have to start taking this (coaching) as a very serious profession,” he said.
Malakoane admits there is not a lot of professional soccer coaches or technical directors available in Canada, but for that to change he says soccer clubs and parents need to want and hire someone with experience to teach and help the kids grow.
“It’s up to the clubs to focus more on teaching players technique. Parents need to listen and respect the view and perspective of the professional so that talent can be built,” he said.
Malakoane hopes parents see that having a professional on board is instrumental in improving skills and technique.
“I want parents to say: ‘I want someone who is trained to come and work with the kids, tell me what my kids need to work on.’” he said. “The good thing about this sport is you do one thing over and over until you master it;” says Malakoane, “so hire (a professional) because he knows what he is doing.”
Leinweber is already planning on a few improvements for next year’s Giddy Up Cup.
“Hopefully we’ll have more teams from Calgary and I think that next year we’ll probably plan a couple new ideas for the social activities. The social aspect is what we need to improve on. Maybe look at something different like a large pancake breakfast,” he said.
Results from the Giddy Up Cup can be seen on their website at calgaryminorsoccer.com. The schedule for the minor soccer Outdoor Alberta Provincials can be found on the Alberta Soccer Association website albertasoccer.com.
Category: Soccer
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