Triton joins Minnesota Youth Soccer Association

Soccer is alive and well in the Dodge County as the Cobra Soccer Club started by Triton Community Education has joined the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association as the first step in Triton’s move toward a high school soccer team.
The Community Education competitive soccer program was given the support of the Triton School Board in May and the MYSA has accepted the application for membership.
“It’s going pretty well,” said Community Education Director Kristy Faber. “We’re already practicing on the turf.”
Triton will be fielding both recreational and competitive teams through the MYSA, Faber said. Already enough players have sign up to have two competitive co-ed teams, she said, and they are hopeful there will be enough participants to have a girls’ team.
At present there is a U15 team for players under 15 and a U13 team for those under 13. The goal, Faber said, is for a soccer team at the high school for the 2016-2017 school year. The plan, she said, is for junior varsity competition the first year and then moving into a varsity team.
Practices are being held on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Faber said, and the program is also in the process of coaches and referees completing MYSA training.
Triton is in the South Division of the MYSA, she said, and competition will be against other schools in the area. Schools in the division include, among others, Austin, Byron, Faribault, Lake City, Northfield, Rochester and Pine Island.
It’s expected, she said, that each of the teams will take part in five or six games against other towns during the season which will begin in the fall. The schedule has not been announced by the MYSA yet, she said, but she expects it will begin in September going into October.
The teams began practicing at the end of June, she said, and there is still room for more players to sign up.
“It’s very new,” Faber said. “We’re open to have more kids.”
Players do not need to be experienced soccer players. At a practice last week, Brittany Wilcox, one of the coaches, said that those signed up for the competitive team include kids from beginners to those who have been playing the game since they were little children.
Youth soccer has been growing in popularity in recent years and the Triton School District is no exception, Faber said. The spring recreational soccer program sponsored by Triton Community Education drew more than 100 students, she said.
“We have always had a great youth turnout for community ed,” Faber said.
The beginning of competitive teams does not mean there will be less emphasis on the recreational program, she said.
The MYSA sponsors both recreational and competitive programs and most schools have both.
The recreational program will become a little more structured, however, she said, and players will be assigned a team to practice with, much like the t-ball program, she said.
The recreational teams, though, will not scrimmage with teams from other towns. The recreational program is for kids’ kindergarten through fourth or fifth grade, Faber said.
This summer, she said, the program is concentrating on getting the competitive teams established. The competitive teams will play their home games at Triton High School on the artificial turf of the Triton football field.
The program is receiving support from throughout the district.
“We’ve had some really great sponsors,” Faber said. Ellingson Companies and Innovative Food Products have been major sponsors of the program, she said, and other area companies have also provided funding.
Participants need to provide their own cleats, shin guards and practice balls but the sponsorships are taking care of costs for jerseys, shorts, MYSA dues, background checks for coaches and officials, national registration and insurance provided through the MYSA.
“It’s a great group of kids,” Faber said, and the school is 100 percent behind the program. With the program in place, she said, the goal is for a high school level team to take to the field in the fall of 2016.