I wonder how many families are involved in the Newmarket Soccer Club. On Soccerfest Saturday, it seems like everybody in Newmarket is out on every soccer field and every neighbourhood is full of mini-vans parked along the sides of the roads. In fact, up to 20,000 people are involved according to the Newmarket Soccer website.
Soccerfest weekend lands at the end of June, before school is out. It’s a two-day house league tournament and everyone gets team and individual photos taken. There are food tents and sponsors and advertisers set up tents too at George Richardson Park. But fields all over Newmarket are used for the games. It’s amazing how they get it all organized. It’s amazing how parents get all their kids to the right place at the right time, especially in families where more than one child is playing.
I know why the mini-van is the stereotypical vehicle for ‘soccer moms’ (and dads!). We have to carry lots of stuff around: our camp chairs, water bottles, umbrellas (sometimes a shelter for the whole team), sweaters, blankets, towels, sunscreen, bug spray, hats, snacks, younger siblings, toys and books to occupy the younger siblings, pets, grandparents, etc.
You never know what kind of weather you’re going to have to deal with: hot, cold, sunny, rainy, sometimes a bit of everything. So, you have to be prepared for anything.
This year, we had a game at 8:30 on Saturday morning. It was cold and rained the whole time. For the 11am game, it rained some more but not the whole time. There must have been a power surge between those games when we all went home between games and all the parents threw all the soccer uniforms (including shin pads and cleats) into the clothes dryers! Sunday was hot and sunny.
Soccerfest is a great community event. I get to know a lot of great people, great families in Newmarket, being “Coach Harry” and we have lots of fun at the side of the field. Soccer, the Beautiful Game, is the very best sport in the world!
