Phew! It’s been busy around our house and I haven’t had a chance to post a recap of our Cal South State and National Cup experience from February and March. We had a very warm winter here in So Cal (sorry to all of you around the country!!) so I don’t have any frozen field or windstorm stories as in years past. Overall, our experience was amazingly pleasant in the year’s biggest tournaments. Click here if you want to read more about the similarities and differences between State and National Cup
I was really excited because LSG played in San Diego! Her first round games were at Walnut Grove Park- a venue we’d never been to before. It was a beautiful park with buildings for concessions and bathrooms etc… The fields in the back were nice, but the front field was crazy bumpy! The weather was beautiful, but HOT the first day. We weren’t prepared for the heat so we used whatever ice we could find. Our team only had one sub, so the girls were wilting out there. One of the pictures below is LSG’s friend handing off the ice pack as one goes out and another comes in.
LSG’s second round games were also in San Diego (can you believe it?!?) at Ryan Park in Escondido. This is a really large facility and we’ve played here several times. (This was the location of the hottest tournament ever!) I didn’t get many pictures this time…
Meanwhile, BSG was playing National Cup at the Lancaster National Soccer Center. I believe that National Cup is always held in Lancaster and there is only one game per day per team. This can make for a lot of time in Lancaster!!! Although in years past I’ve spent a lot of time freezing and bending in the wind on the sidelines, this year it was incredibly beautiful…yes, in Lancaster.
Both my girls teams did well and fun was had by all. I was able to see most of the games although I did have to do a Lancaster to San Diego drive on a Saturday night! This year was a little bit more emotional than others because two of BSG’s friends quit playing soccer after the season due to too many injuries and other interests. I knew it was coming, but it was still sad. LSG was also a little emotional because she knew she was moving to a different team- although she is still with some of her teammates, she was really sad to leave others. The circle of soccer I guess!
On a happier note, I think Cal South did a much better job this year with the most important part of State/National Cup…the sweatshirts! Kids all over Southern California want to wear their sweatshirts to school the next day. In years past there have been sweatshirt shortages and long lines, but this year everything seemed to go smoothly. I was even able to order LSG’s sweatshirt on-line and have her name printed on the arm. It’s the little things that matter 🙂
Any National/State Cup stories to share?