LIHU‘E — The Braveheart Futbal Club Boys Under 12 broke away from a 3-3 halftime deadlock to outrun Kalemanu, 8-1 in the second half on Sunday as the Kaua‘i Soccer Association opened its fall season with a lot of games at the North Vidinha soccer fields.
Kevin Devitt, KSA commissioner, was pleased with the turnout of both teams and parents who complied with COVID-19 rules and guides for the league.
“To tell you the truth, I was afraid of what I would’ve seen,” Devitt said. “There would be a lot of people, both players and parents, and this would’ve been our first and last game.”
Kaua‘i Soccer Association opened its season to more than 50 teams made up of youngsters as young as 8 to 18 years old. Teams play weekly based on the current pandemic situation at game time.
“This is a week-by-week thing,” Devitt said. “If a team is impacted by a positive test result, they don’t play until they’re cleared. We’re lucky that we have enough teams that we can substitute another team so the scheduled team can play.”
That situation happened on opening day when the Braveheart FC’s regularly scheduled opponent was not able to play, and Kalemanu was able to put together a team — they were only able to gather nine of its roster — so the contest could play.
Faced with this dynamic situation, Devitt said there will be no win-loss records or lead status kept for the fall season.
“It’s important that the kids get to play, and the coaches can coach,” Devitt said. “They’ve been inside too long. They just want to get out and do something.”
Play takes place under the hand of pandemic rules, similar to the spring season that hobbled through the health and safety guidelines.
One of the changes for the better is allowing parents back on the field to watch their children play.
“This has been really hard during the last season when no one except players were allowed on the field,” Devitt said. “This season, we loosened up and are allowing one parent per child into the stadium to watch. When their child’s game is done, they need to leave…no large gatherings. Teams must also disperse after quickly as they can following their game.”
“We’re monitoring the COVID-19 condition, and working closely with the county officials,” Devitt said. “Listen to those kids — they’re happy to be doing something instead of being stuck inside the house.”
The message on the back of a Braveheart FC coach said it all — “Let the kids play!”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
