As the weather gets a bit more palatable to outdoor happenings, that means the indoor sports begin to wind down for another year.
That includes indoor soccer and the first of multiple tournaments in the coming weeks had its go-round.
The Yk Galaxy Soccer Club held the Diversity NWT and Nunavut Spring Tournament at the Fieldhouse and everything wrapped up on Sunday evening with the winning teams in each division getting to hoist the Galaxy Cup.
Defny Torindo, the club’s administrative co-ordinator, said nearly 20 were entered in this year’s tournament and they were spread across five divisions.
It wasn’t just Yk Galaxy Club teams, either.
“We had a total of 19 teams — 15 YK Galaxy and 4 Sundogs — that ranged from U5 to U17 (and older) age groups,” she said. “We had a wonderful turnout that included 200 Galaxy (players) and 50 Sundogs players. Everyone had great and friendly competition fighting for the Galaxy Cup, with (the) Sundogs taking three (titles) home.”
Indeed, the Sundogs, known officially as the Yellowknife Bay Soccer Club, took home top spot in the U9/U11 boys and girls division (Sundogs Boys), U11/U13 boys and girls division (Sundogs U13 Girls A) and U11/U13 girls (Sundogs U13 Girls B). The Galaxy ended up capturing the U13 boys (Galaxy Avengers) and U15/U17 boys and girls (Galaxy Dorado).
In addition to the action on the pitch, there was a parents/coaches game featuring the older kids, something Torindo said was one of the highlights of the weekend.
“The players were cheering on their parents to put pressure on their coaches,” she said.
Team Black, featuring mostly parents, took the lead, 4-3, with one minute remaining in regulation time and Torindo said that’s when the real excitement began.
“All the players were screaming “Don’t let him shoot, don’t let him get the ball!’,” she said in reference to Dillon Torindo, Yk Galaxy’s owner and head coach.
It worked as he didn’t get the ball and didn’t score, giving Team Black the win in a game which Torindo said she hopes becomes a new tradition as part of the tournament.
It was a long weekend, she added, and everyone was happily exhausted but it was worth it.
“Overall, the turnout this year surpassed our expectations and we cannot wait to see what next year will hold,” she said. “We hope to have more teams versus our Galaxy players as it creates more fun competition for local players.”