Youth soccer get underway

Photo by Marny Malin-Isaac White, Dominic Randazzo and John Pina-Baker chase down the ball during a 5-year-old game Saturday.

For the eighth season on Fort Belvoir, youth soccer players took to the fields Saturday for the fall season's opening games.
More than 200 soccer players will don the Fort Belvoir uniform this year, playing for 20 intramural teams and two off-post travel teams.
"We have four more teams than last year, so that's excellent," said Rashawd Pope, Youth Sports assistant director. "That shows you the growth on post; I didn't expect that. We've never had more than six teams in one age group and, this year, we have eight teams in two age groups."
This fall, there are eight 5-year-old teams; eight 6- to 7-year-old teams; and four 8- to-10-year-old teams. There is also a boy's fifth and sixth grade travel team, and a boy's seventh and eighth grade travel team.
On the first day of the intramural season, all 20 co-ed teams took to the field for a fun-filled first day.
"Everything went pretty smooth," Pope said. "We had good games, all of the coaches were out there. It was a great day, too: the weather was great and the grass was perfect."
Head referee Pat Franco agrees.
"It was a great first day," he said. "There were no injuries, no major problems to deal with."
Throughout the season, each on-post team will play eight games. There are no playoffs in the fall, due to impending cold weather.
"If everything goes well, and if weather cooperates, the final game should be November 10," Pope said. "In the spring time, we'll go full-blast, that's the official soccer season."
And, like any youth sports program, Belvoir soccer couldn't run without volunteers, and this year there are 16 new volunteer coaches joining the ranks.
"This is one of the best leagues in the area," said Franco, who also works with other leagues throughout the area. "Each year, they get more kids, and each year, they get more enthusiastic."