For Nick Becker, soccer and Aberdeen go hand-in-hand. His parents lived in the Aberdeen area when Becker was young, and they also helped kickstart soccer programs in Groton and Aberdeen.

“They started it I’d say 25 years ago, and then went into coaching when we were 14, and they just kind of helped foster the program,” Becker said.

Although his parents have since moved to Minneapolis, Becker said his parents were heavily involved in youth soccer programs up until recent years.

“They did the high school programs until probably about 5-6 years ago,” Becker said. “They got the high school program started there, the rec program, and then obviously they come to Aberdeen.”

Becker has been the head coach of the University of Jamestown women’s soccer team since 2012. He also is the head coach for the Jamestown Soccer Club Jaguars youth program. Becker says it is nice to be home and seeing soccer alive and well in Aberdeen.

“It’s always nice to come home,” Becker said. “Grandpa and Grandma are here too from the other side, but it’s good to see that soccer is still thriving in the community and going, so that’s important.”

Becker is appreciative of how the youth soccer programs kickstarted his career that eventually led him to be a coach.

“It’s interesting, right. So, when you start something brand new, you don’t know much about it, but all of a sudden you get into it and then you dive in and now you’re going onto the professional side and working at the college program,” Becker said.

Becker is glad to see that others are still taking care of the youth programs in the Aberdeen area and that the kids get the chance to play in tournaments like the Dacotah Bank Cup. He also says he has a favorite part about coming back to the tournament.

“Seeing the people that have been helping with the game for the last 20 years,” Becker said. “The same referee guy, the same other coach whose been here for a long time, and then guys I played with back in the day are still here, so it’s a good thing to see them in the community.”

WINNING A TOURNEY TITLE

The Dacotah Bank Cup crowned girls’ and boys’ champions on Sunday afternoon, with players gleaming with excitement. Hub City Soccer Club player Carrigan Hoven was a part of the girls’ championship at the 9-and 10-year old level. Hoven was excited about winning the championship.

“(It was) pretty good because we worked together and it was fun,” Hoven said.

The 10-year-old was glad she and her family could be at the tournament this weekend.

“(It was) kind of fun, especially since a lot of my family could come,” Hoven said.

Hoven, like many other players, had to brave the outdoor elements throughout the weekend.

“Rain was kind of fun, but also freezing, and it was fun today,” Hoven said.

To cap it all off, Hoven congratulated her teammates on the win, with one particular position in mind.

“It was fun and good job goalies,” Hoven said.

WIND REPLACES RAIN ON THE PITCH

After the rainy conditions left on Saturday, the Dacotah Bank Cup soccer tournament was followed up with windy conditions on Sunday. That brought about a different feel for soccer players, including Hub City Soccer Club player Heath Heagley.

“It felt good because when we were running around, it cooled us down,” Heagley said.

With the wind helping to keep the players cool, Heagley said he enjoyed being on the field with his teammates.

“It was really fun,” Heagley said. “I had a fun time with all my players.”

The 9-year-old said he likes being able to play in a tournament like the Dacotah Bank Cup.

“I liked it a lot because I had a really fun time playing with all of my friends,” Heagley said.

COACHING FUTURE GOLDEN EAGLES

Lance Mohr coaches several different levels of soccer. The Hub City Soccer Club coach is also the Aberdeen Central High School boys’ soccer coach, and he says there are differences in the amount of time he spends between coaching youth players versus high school players.

“When you’re going two days a week practice here in the summer, and then the occasional tournament weekend, versus each and every day, you spend so much more time with them,” Mohr said. “(Also) to see the strides that they make at this age from the beginning of the season to the end is much more impactful. You can see it and they enjoy it, and so that’s really the difference is that they’re so young and there’s so much you can teach them from the high school kids.”

Mohr said there is also a difference between communicating to youth players versus high school players.

“Communication is a lot different when you’re dealing with seventh graders to seniors,” Mohr said. “They have something totally different on their mind. Some of these 9 and 10-year- olds are just worried about going to the water park every day, so it’s just a different coaching style. They’re really great kids and they enjoy coming out here.”

Mohr also noted that it takes patience when dealing with younger, inexperienced players.

“It takes a lot more patience and a lot more time on the smaller, simpler things of the game before you can get advanced into a little bit more of the tactics and different teams and how they play,” Mohr said.

Mohr said it means a lot to get kids out to the tournament to gain experience.

“Directly I’ll be coaching them at some point in the future, so as many of them as we can see, as many as we can keep into the game and having a positive experience, it all helps,” Mohr said. “Hats off to the board and tournament director. Just to have them have a great environment like this, right in town, the community does a good job of getting behind it, and it turned out to be a really nice weekend.”

To see complete results of the tournament, click on the following link:

https://events.htgsports.net/?eventid=11381#/scheduleresults