Young soccer hopefuls compete in PCB

Special to the Star

On Jan. 30, a group of young ladies ages 10 to 12 traveled to Panama City Beach to participate in the PCB 7V7 Soccer Tournament. Playing at a competitive level was a first for this particular group, and possibly the first all-girl team to represent Port St. Joe outside of the Port St. Joe High School varsity team.

Teammates include, front row, from left, Jozie Partin, Anderson Hodges, RJ Gerlach and Brooke Peacock. Back row, from left, are Madelyn Shoaf, Aubree Purdy, Molly Partin, Sadie Burkett and Libby White.

These young ladies played four games against seasoned, competitive players. While starting slow in the first two games, the girls continued to improve during the day and finished with a tie and a win in the last two games. It was a great learning experience for the team, and a perfect way to get these players familiar with playing together and under the guidance of the PSJHS Lady Shark coach, Justin Gerlach.

To prepare, this group trained weekly with Heidi Mueller, a former member of the University of Louisville soccer team and director of Futskilz soccer, an individual training program for kids of all ages.

The team would like to express their appreciation to the following sponsors; St. Joe Gas, 5 Star Linen Service, Bayou Storage, Coastal Realty Group, Current Solutions, Faith Christian School, Coast2Coast Printing & Promotion, Coastal Joe Vacation Rentals, Gulf Bookkeeping and Greg and Linda Johnson.