The lines were straighter, the sky was darker, but the grass was just as long.
The Waddy Cup campaign kicked off this week. This is the second year running that we have had an in-season tournament on the grass beside the turf. It helps make the most of the space we have and gives everyone an extra 1 – 6 games per Spring League season. However, prior to the 6:30 ‘Christmas Derby’ kick-off between Red and Green, the grass was debuted by the TIDE Spring League waitlist drop-in. In an attempt to cram even more soccer into an already busy Monday night at Sherman turf, current members of the Spring League waitlist were invited to a drop-in, which will be hosted every Monday from 5:25 – 6:25 on the grass for the foreseeable future. Refereed by Spring League stalwart Alex De Graaf – who looks to whet his whistle in preparation for a Waddy Cup refereeing debut in May – the drop-in attempts give waitlisted members a chance to join in the community. Whether it will be a success remains to be seen, but this Monday was promising!
The first two Waddy Cup games went off without a hitch. The only change compared to regular Spring League matches is 20-minute halves. This helps to try and combat the early sunset, as well as the general derision towards playing on a grass field. But hey, more soccer! Green and Purple both cruised to 3-0 victories, and John Lohsen’s glasses were the only casualty. 4 more Waddy Cup games are slated for the remainder of April, before continuing into May, where 8 teams will enter the double knockout portion of the competition. Please check out the Waddy Cup page at the top of the Tide Athletic website for more information!
Overall, the first 3 weeks of Spring League have been successful. Teal managed to finally score their first goals, Curtis Flynn had his shutout streak ended at the hands of his former pupil, and we went a week without a single blue card – despite Ross Henderson’s attempts at karate mid-game. We’ve introduced a few players off the waitlist to help fill out teams, and while I have been exhausted during the week, it’s all worth it once Monday night comes around. Listening to Mattie Smith complain about giving away a penalty, seeing Connor Crichton take his first sub deep into the second half, and watching Tianna Chau coach her team from the sidelines while rehabbing through injury is what it’s all about. It’s always exciting to see what Monday will bring.