"We are ready."
For Okanagan FC boys U15 team head coach Justin Boersma, feels his team is prepared to take on some of the best U15 teams in the country at the national championships set for Quinte West, Ontario, from Oct. 9-14.
His message to his players in the last month of practice leading up to the finals has been to trust the process, stay focused and only worry about the immediate game before you.
"Our first game (on Wednesday, Oct. 9) is against Yukon so that is what we have to focus on, and not look beyond that," Boersma said.
"All you can do is focus on what is right in front of you and see what happens after that."
Under the national tournament format, Okanagan FC will face Yukon on Wednesday and a team from Halifax representing Nova Scotia on Friday, with the top two teams in each of the four tournament divisions advancing to the quarterfinals.
"I have warned the kids about all the noise that goes on around you in a tournament of this scale...what I have said to them is enjoy the experience and we go there with the intention to represent our province, soccer in the Okanagan and ourselves as best we can," he said.
The club has been anchored all season by a solid backline trio of Blake Gerding, Harry Davies and Joe Reid, combined with midfielders Braxton Archondous, Kieyran Ragoonaden, Kian Cattaneo Krakower, Toyosi Illori, Kieron Boersma and Fynn Nield providing the transition ball movement to the scoring forwards led by Roman Paylor, Artem Sliunko, Harrison Roe, Robert Ruddock, Noah Spada, Maximo Trozzo and Kade Redmond.
Backing them up all year has been the solid goalkeeping of Aidan Carreon Sabatino.
"We play compact defensively in plugging up the middle and offensively we call it positive play, to push forward and get our three mid-fielders touching the ball as much as they can to retain possession.
"If we just trust in what we have done these past nine months, trust the process, we'll be just fine.
"Our guys have proven all year they can play with anybody...I am excited to see our boys, to show what they can do on a national stage. "
Boersma speaks from experience having played as a youth on a B.C. team at a soccer national championship, and playing in two national NAIA championship tournaments while attending university in Kansas City.
He hopes Okanagan FC's appearance in a national final will set a stake for other Okanagan soccer clubs to achieve in growing the sport and success at a high level.
"I feel there is a lot of potential for soccer potential in Kelowna and the Okanagan, we just somehow have to create the clubs and programs and the coaching to get that out...to be able to play on a bigger stage. I am not aware of a team from Kelowna in soccer having ever reached this level."
Okanagan FC will take on Yukon to open the tournament on Wednesday, 10 a.m. (eastern time), have a day off on Thursday and play Nova Scotia on Friday. The quarterfinals will be Saturday, Oct. 12, the semi-finals on Sunday and the final on Monday.
