SC soccer team takes championship in Florida

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — It was halftime of the final game of the 2012-13 Kick It 3v3 Disney World Championships. A South Carolina soccer team, who had won all the games up to the final, was down 3 to 1, according to Coach Todd Sykes.

“The boys, for their age, showed a lot of heart and drive and refused to give up,” Sykes said.

The team came back and won – 6 to 5 – securing the championship. The game was held the weekend of Jan. 18 – 20 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Florida.

All the players of the ICFC Blue team, from the Lake Wylie, Clover and Fort Mill areas, are between the ages of 6 and 7. And they’re playing in the Elite Invitation Division.

“I try and explain to folks how technically good these kids are,” Sykes said. “Folks see them as 6 and 7 year olds, but their skill levels are so high and they can do stuff with the ball that is truly amazing.”

Before the tournament, the team had amasses more than 350 goals. They won their last 50 games with no losses as well as every tournament they played in.

“As a dad, these are my little boys, so this is all fun and very enjoyable that they love the sport that I love,” Sykes said. “As a coach and player, I am in awe of the players and can only wonder what their futures hold in the soccer world.”

The team had seven games to take the championship and they won them all. They played teams from Virginia, Missouri, Florida and Maryland. Skyes said some of the big club teams could pull their best players from pools of hundreds of players.

The game play for 3v3 is fast, technical and skilled, Sykes explained.

“It is very much like the form of street soccer they play in other countries like Brazil and Argentina,” Sykes said.

The kids started playing when they were age 2 – 3. The boys train as a team four days a week and typically, when not formally as a team, they train on their own.

“They are all in love with soccer and this are together almost every day playing,” Sykes said.

Sykpes said the team has received an invitation to play in Norway and they also have been invited to play with an academy in Italy.

“The word on their talents is getting out as we get calls from U.S.-based clubs and many of the international academies invited them to play and tryouts within their organization,” Sykes said.

The team is part of the Palmetto United Futbol Club. For more information, click here.

For more information on Kick It 3v3 soccer tournaments, click here.

WSOC