This weekend, June 10-12, marked the 7th annual Ancaster Heritage Soccer Tournament. First held in 2005, Ancaster welcomed 31 teams of both boys and girls from U8 to U18. Since that first tournament, organizers have experienced rapid growth as their little tournament has become the second biggest soccer tournament in Ontario. The 2011 addition saw 336 teams with 5,100 players converge on Ancaster, Ontario for a memorable weekend of soccer and logistic chaos.
Along with the 336 teams and 5,100 players came 21,000 spectators, volunteers, family and friends to take in the games and festivities put on by the Ancaster Soccer Club. 33 fields, basically every pitch in Ancaster and some down the mountain in Hamilton, were put to good use in order to field all of the games. And in order to keep these games running smoothly, the soccer club spent an estimated $30,000 on local referees, a large but necessary sum to ensure an excellent week for all participants.
Aside from the action on the fields the attraction of over 20,000 people from all over Ontario, Quebec and even New York state is estimated to provide a $375,000 injection into Ancaster's economy. A big boost to local shops, restaurants, and hotels as well as Mohawk College and Redeemer University who opened their residences to accommodate the traveling players. The tournament also attracted 20 vendors to participate in the festival located at the tournaments hub at Ancaster High School.
With so many people coming into Ancaster for the weekend, traffic in the town swelled way beyond normal levels. Unfortunately for tournament organizers, the Lincoln Alexander Parkway's, a major through route in Ancaster, west bound lanes were closed for construction causing extra congestion on the town roads. Organizers did their best to keep things on the roads moving smoothly, but despite their best efforts, parking around most of the fields remained a nightmare.
This was my first experience with the Ancaster Heritage Soccer Tournament with this being my first season working as an assistant manager with the Tillsonburg Titan U13 boys team. Our goal for the tournament was just to do our best and gain some extra game experience as our season starts to kick into gear. We weren't sure about what sort of competition we would be facing when we were drawn in a pool with teams from Bluewater (Sarnia), Cambridge, and Grimsby.
We played our first game against Bluewater, a team that plays in our league. This match gave us an opportunity to have a look at an opponent we will be facing two more times this season in a game that didn't matter as much. The boys played really well in this match, showing they were the superior team dominating the possession and creating many chances. Unfortunately, they were not able to finish any of their chances and the match ended in a 0-0.
The Titans bounced back from a disappointing draw against Bluewater to take our last two group stage games against Cambridge and Grimsby, 3-1 and 9-0 respectably. The boys continued to play their style of play, keeping the ball really well and receiving praise for their great play from our opposition and referees. It was the kind of thing that makes a coach proud.
We won our group with a record of 2-1-0 but required a tie breaker of goal differential to advance to the semi-finals. Unfortunately we lost to Wrexham by a score of 6-1. The team from Scarborough would go on to win the U13 L3 boys title taking advantage of their size and pace to slice through their opponents defense. Congratulation of Wrexham for a good weekend of soccer.
Despite coming up just short of taking home the tournament championship and an intense sunburn, it was a great weekend for soccer in Ontario. Tournaments like the Ancaster Heritage Soccer Tournament are a good sign for the beautiful game in our country. With 336 teams, an increase of 80 teams from last year, the tournament has swelled in size each year during its 7 year existence and look set to continue to grow as its reputation spreads. Things look brighter for an already fantastic tournament in years to come.
With this years addition in the book, its time to look forward to next seasons. If you get the chance when next years tournament comes around, why not spend a day checking out some good youth soccer and support your local club.
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