You’d be hard pressed to find a room filled with more competitive sixth-graders than the ones at Allain St. Cyr Gymnasium on Sunday.
Weledeh took on William McDonald in the final of the Grade 6 boys division. When the dust settled, the Wolves emerged victorious in what ended up being a bit of a blowout.
Ben Royal was goalkeeper for Weledeh. With his medal in hand, he said it felt good to end on a win.
“I’m happy that I won. It was intense, nervous and exciting,” he said.
Royal wasn’t always too sure how far his team would go in this tournament, he said. During the semi-finals, he explained his team looked down and out at one point.
“I thought we were going to lose there, but then we scored and we won,” he said enthusiastically.
For the finals game, Royal said that once his team had peppered the William McDonald net, he became pretty sure his team had it in the bag.
Silver might not taste as sweet as gold, but for Gerald Enns, who coached the Wildcats to second place, he said there was no shortage of effort from anyone, no matter the kicks.
“There was a lot of good sportsmanship throughout the tournament,” Enns added.
He also mentioned how many teams came from places outside of Yellowknife, like Fort Smith and Fort Simpson.
“I hope they had a great time.”
Enns said he hopes the kids who don’t play league soccer, but still took part in the tournament, got something out of it.
“When you give 100 per cent after six games of play, it’s a great effort,” he said.
Weledeh made it a sweep of the Grade 6 division as the Wolves’ girls squad also defeated William McDonald to claim victory. In the Grade 7 division, William McDonald ended winning both of those banners; the boys final was an all-Wildcats affair, while the girls beat St. Joe’s. William McDonald also won the Grade 8 girls crown thanks to their win over St. Pat’s, but St. Pat’s went on to beat William McDonald in the Grade 8 boys final.
Up next is the Senior Super Soccer tournament, which gets underway Thursday afternoon. St. Pat’s and Sir John Franklin will have teams competing and they’ll be joined by visiting club from Hay River, Fort Smith, Fort Simpson, Behchoko and Whale Cove from Nunavut.