LIHU‘E — The Cedar Stars played soccer aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines’ “Pride of America,” Wednesday night, said Bobi Stotts. Stotts, of Vancouver Island, Canada, was at the North Vidinha fields, Thursday, watching her daughter Jordan play with the Canadian
LIHU‘E — The Cedar Stars played soccer aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines’ “Pride of America,” Wednesday night, said Bobi Stotts.
Stotts, of Vancouver Island, Canada, was at the North Vidinha fields, Thursday, watching her daughter Jordan play with the Canadian team that was involved in a match against the combined teams of the Kaua‘i Soccer Association’s GIFC and Ha‘aheo.
“The girls wanted to play in a soccer tournament next week on O‘ahu, but our school’s Spring Break didn’t match up with Hawai‘i’s,” Stotts said. “But coach Dee Randen promised these girls a ‘big trip,’ and they’ve been fundraising since last May.”
The trip to Hawai‘i was big for the Cedar Stars as the players donned special “Hawai‘i 2010” shirts for their match against their Kaua‘i counterparts in brisk tradewinds that forced the parent contingent to huddle under beach towels.
Stotts said instead of the tournament, Randen made some connections and the 15-16 Canadian players ended up playing two games when the cruise ship docked on Maui.
“Last night, they played the staff aboard the ship,” Stotts said. “Today, we play Kaua‘i and when we return to O‘ahu, Sunday, we’ll play one more game, there before returning to Canada after spending a few days in Waikiki.”
The soccer parent noted a lot of the girls on the Cedar Stars have been playing together since the first grade and the trip to Hawai‘i was the coach’s reward to the girls “for sticking together.” The girls are now in the 10th grade.
Kevin Devitt, coach of the GIFC and commissioner for KSA, said he got an e-mail last week requesting the match and jumped at the opportunity.
“These are not Kaua‘i players and it’s good for our players to be exposed to other players,” Devitt said, getting agreement from Bobby Rapozo, coach for the Ha‘aheo team.
Devitt said he agreed to the game on condition Kaua‘i could combine the teams so the maximum number of girls could benefit from the Cedar Stars’ visit.
