Central Whidbey players (in blue) mix it up on the pitch last season. (Jennifer Moody photo)
Last year’s debut U14 co-ed squad. (Island Life photo courtesy Michelle Cernick)
Something for everyone.
The Central Whidbey Soccer Club needs players for a U14 co-ed squad, and they’re putting out the call to players of all skill levels.
The squad is open to boys and girls born in 2003-2004, and will start its fall season in mid-to-late Sept.
Schedule-wise, the season consists of eight games (played on Saturdays) against teams from Oak Harbor.
If you register (https://coupevillesoccer.org/) and pay your $75, it doesn’t matter if you’re a grizzled vet who has been running the pitch for years or a newbie who’s never put foot to soccer ball.
Players see equal time on the field, regardless of skill level or gender.
Co-ed soccer offers a different challenge, one young players have embraced.
“Playing co-ed makes me play harder, because boys are more unpredictable,” Autumn Cernick said. “It makes it more fun.”
While boys and girls tend to approach the game differently (CWSC coaches said boys tend to be more technical and girls more aggressive), play doesn’t always favor one side.
“Sometimes the boys underestimate the aggression of the girls and what we’re capable of,” Aurora Cernick said.
Having a co-ed team is essential, as the U14 age group is an especially hard one at which to pull together a complete girls or boys squad.
Last year’s team, which had three boys, was the first time CWSC had fielded a co-ed U14 team.
“In the very beginning the boys walk on the field feeling confident that the girls are no competition for them. They have severely underestimated the capability of their teammates,” Michelle Cernick said. “Then we have our first soccer scrimmage to see what each player is capable of.
“The boys start out with the ball and moving across the field doing tricks with the ball and acting like they own it. Next thing you know the girls start getting in there and knocking the boys around,” she added. “Boys meet female aggression and you are about to get body checked because you have what said female wants … the ball.
“Welcome to coed soccer.”
