With the exception of the strong winds that forced teams to adjust their playing style at times, the overall experience of the first state soccer championships played outside of St. Louis was positive.
Springfield Catholic (Class 1), Priory (Class 2) and DeSmet (Class 3) captured championships Saturday at Blue Springs South High in suburban Kansas City.
Games also were played at Blue Springs High. The boys and girls tournaments through the spring of 2014 will be hosted by the Blue Springs School District.
“Personally, I think it’s great that Kansas City finally got a chance to host after all these years,’’ DeSmet coach Greg Vitello said. “I think, as a whole, the St. Louis soccer community had grown complacent, thinking that no one else could host an event like this. But from the start, the people at Blue Springs South were determined to run a first-class tournament, and that’s exactly what they did. I know our kids had an incredible time.
“Really the only drawback was having to play almost 300 miles from home, but after all the years of the Kansas City schools coming across the state, it’s probably about time, right?’’
While lacking the historic, soccer-only feel of the Anheuser-Busch Center in Fenton, the facilities at Blue Springs and Blue Springs South were first rate. And so were the people working the event.
“Everybody we encountered seemed to bend over backward to make us feel welcome,’’ Priory coach John Mohrmann said. “We’re not a school that travels, so that whole thing was a little more of a concern than I wanted it to be. But once we got to the field, everything ran about as smoothly as you could hope for.
“I would prefer to play on grass, of course, but the turf at Blue Springs South was excellent.’’
Area coaches said they were contacted early last week by team hosts who remained available throughout the tournament.
“I exchanged several emails with our team host, and he made sure we had anything we needed to make our trip as comfortable as possible,’’ Oakville’s Dave Robben said. “Everywhere you went, you’d see coaches or teachers from Blue Springs South in their blue jackets, ready to help in any way they could.’’
The crowds, which featured strong groups from all the St. Louis squads, were decent. Friday’s attendance was limited somewhat by football, with Lee’s Summit West playing at Staley and Blue Springs South across the state at Francis Howell, and on Saturday night by the all-St. Louis soccer title matchups. Priory (27-0) won 2-0 over Trinity for the Class 2 title while DeSmet (25-4-1) won by the same score over Oakville in the Class 3 match.
“I’ve had a number of our faculty members tell me they would’ve loved to be there, but people just can’t drop everything and head across the state for a soccer game,’’ Vitello said. “And who knows what kind of crowd they would’ve had if Lee’s Summit West had made the final. Or if Rockhurst gets there.’’
Many of the negatives about the soccer experience in Kansas City were directed toward the Missouri State High School Activities Association.
“With all the check-ins and hand-stamping, there were times you felt like you were entering a prison facility,’’ Robben kidded.
“It’s the little things that add up,’’ Vitello said. “Things like putting tape on the field for a coaching box, having to supply ball boys and then not having those ball boys positioned correctly or giving teams five more minutes at halftime to go to the locker room instead of having to yell at your team to be heard over the public-address guy during the halftime PK Challenge.
“It’s gotten better -- it really has -- but sometimes I just wish MSHSAA would find a true soccer guy to consult with, someone who could help eliminate some of those little things that take away, even a little bit, from the experience overall.’’
Just hours after picking up his fifth state championship with DeSmet, Spartans coach Greg Vitello hurried home to be a part of another title-clinching effort Sunday afternoon with the Ascension sixth-grade girls A-level CYC squad that includes his grand-daughter, Emily Fuchs.
“I’m the assistant coach,’’ Vitello said. “My daughter, Christine, runs the show, but I’m there whenever I can make it. I love it. The girls have so much fun -- for them it’s a social event - and they’re great to work with because they’re so receptive, so eager to learn. And they always seem to have smiles on their faces.’’
Ascension, of Chesterfield, won 2-1 over St. Gerard Majella, of Kirkwood, for its first City-County championship after back-to-back semifinal losses.
“St. Gerard Majella eliminated us in the semifinals last year and were probably the stronger team again this year,’’ Vitello said. “But our girls pulled it out for the perfect finish to a very good weekend.’’
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