By: Matt High, Athletics Program Coordinator

The Sunny Isles Beach Under-10 travel league soccer team competed in the Greater Hollywood Soccer League (GHSL) during the 2008 spring season. The squad traveled to various fields throughout the South Florida region competing against some of the best teams South Florida has to offer. A tryout was held in December to field the best 15 players from Sunny Isles Beach.

The team’s regular season record was 5-4-1. The team went on a winning streak towards the end of the season finishing with four consecutive wins inching them into the playoffs. The team finished the regular season fourth overall in the competitive Under-10 division. The team overcame adversity this season, having their coach, Jessica LeNoir, take a leave of absence due to an injury. The under-12 soccer coaches along with some of the recreational coaches stepped in, to fill the hole, as the coaches. Sergio Vuguin, Grant Grimsley, Marcelo Essabba, Kermit Johnson, Diego Echeverria, and Alex Bezhin, as a collective group, kept the team moving forward and helping them achieve a playoff berth.

On March 29th and 30th, the playoffs were held at Royal Oaks Park in Miami Lakes. The playoffs were set-up as single elimination rounds. In the semi-final game on Saturday, we were paired with the number one seed, Miami Lakes, who went undefeated during the regular season. It was an exciting game. At halftime, we were down 1-3; as the second half started we scored our second goal to make the game closer. With five minutes left in the game, Andre Neitzert scored a goal which ended the game in a tie. In order to break the tie, each team received five penalty kicks. Our goalie, Denys Yaremkevych, was the most outstanding player of the game. He allowed only one ball into the goal during penalty kicks. Sunny Isles Beach won the semi-finals with a score of 3-1 in penalty kicks.

On Sunday, we played for the championship against the Cyclones at Royal Oaks Park in Miami Lakes. Unfortunately, this was not the team’s day; they lost to a great team. We are all proud of the Under-10 squad for overcoming adversity and achieving runner-up status for the 2008 season.

I would like to thank all the coaches that huddled around to help this team make a run for the championship. By far, we have the best coaches around. Again, congratulations to the Under-10 soccer team and the coaches.

Check the city website (www.sibfl.net) or the city’s cable access channel 77, SIB TV, for updates on programs offered by the Cultural and Human Services Department, 305.792.1706.