It has been widely suggested that what makes a person a winner is having high ambitions, and displaying absolute determination to do whatever it takes to achieve a goal.
It seems like the St. Paul U12 boys Vipers soccer team — coached by Ricardo Williams and Maurice Brousseau — has that quality in spades. The response the kids offered to a question posed to them by their coach illustrates the psyche of this team.
“I would ask them how do they spell the word fun,” said Williams. “They spelled out the word win.”
The team was crowned Lakeland Cup winners in late June, and showed their fortitude again at provincials in Vermilion on July 10 to 12. The team came away in third place, out of the eight teams competing for the title.
The Vipers’ lone loss came in their opening game against Edson.
“Edson came into that game without a loss all year,” said Brousseau. “For most of the game, the score was 1-0, but we were trying so hard on offence late in the game that it allowed Edson to score two late goals to make the final 3-0.”
The loss put St. Paul into a position where it had to win its remaining games in order to earn a shot at a medal. Brousseau said throughout the season, this team has been in sync. The bond between players grew even more throughout the provincial tournament.
Displaying strong teamwork, the Vipers did win their remaining three games.
Their first win of the tournament came against Peace River on Saturday morning. On the strength of two goals from Emanuel Siaw, St. Paul edged Peace River 2-1.
St. Paul’s dominant defence shined again that day. The team shutout Leduc by a 2-0 score in a Saturday afternoon matchup. The goal scorers were Haiden Harasem and Francis Adebayo.
“The boys played really hard to help us bounce back,” said Brousseau.
He told the Journal that the defensive scheme they employed frustrated their opponents, and featured the midfielder working in tandem with the two defenceman to shut down the opposing offence.
The win put the Vipers into a Sunday matchup against Carbon to determine third and fourth place. St. Paul won the game 3-1, thanks to goals by Haiden Harasem, Emanuel Siaw and Matthew Nunweiler.
“I am tremendously proud of how we ended the year, ” says Brousseau. “We won seven of our final eight games when you include the results of the Lakeland Cup.”
“I am so proud to have coached this team,” says Williams.
In addition to appreciating working with the players on the team, Williams says he appreciated the support Brousseau provided him.
“He played a great role in helping us get where we did. He was phenomenal,” says Williams.
The feeling was clearly mutual for the coaches. “(Williams) is a great coach and leader,” says Brousseau. “We work very well together.”
Brousseau said one of the specific ways that Williams helped elevate this team was by coming up with an offensive system where the team would primarily attack from the outside.
“Most teams play a 2-3-2 and clog up the middle of the field,” says Brousseau. “Most teams have only one or two players on the outside edges of the field.”
The Vipers were able to overwhelm the defenders manning those posts and create clear lanes to the net. There is a potential for next season to be just as successful for this U12 team. Only five players on this year’s team are moving up to play in a higher age bracket in 2016.
