Major Beach Soccer checks into Coquina Beach for kicks
The sounds of reggae music filled the air at Coquina Beach Aug. 6 at a two-day Major Beach Soccer qualifying tournament.
It is the second year the county-run beach in Bradenton Beach has hosted the tournament for teams competing to advance to the Major Beach Soccer National Championships. This year’s tournament will be Dec. 10-11 at Clearwater Beach.
Major Beach Soccer, in its seventh year, is the product of former pro player Peter Mellor, who resides on Longboat Key. Mellor played goalie in the English Premier League 1969-81, including 190 appearances for Fulham and the 1975 FA Cup final.
Mellor learned of beach soccer almost 30 years ago when he took a team he coached to Rio de Janiero and saw Brazilians playing soccer at Copacabana Beach. He saw a future for beach soccer on Florida’s beaches.
It’s a different game than regular soccer, starting with the level of difficulty of playing in sand. It’s not easy to run in the sand, much less dribble, and even harder to pass the ball effectively on the ground. Because of this, the game is more direct. It requires the ball to be played in the air more than a traditional game on a grass pitch.
On the kick off from the center spot, one player often flicks the ball up in the air for a teammate to attempt a volley on goal. Instead of the usual goal kick taken when the ball goes over the end line in grass soccer, the goalie typically throws the ball towards the opponent’s goal area to a teammate, who then attempts to settle the ball or flick it onto a teammate. There’s no such thing as a bad shot.
The atmosphere at a beach soccer tournament is much like a surfing contest or a beach volleyball tournament — vibrant music and dancing is the norm.
The Coquina Beach qualifier was small, with only 13 teams vying for a spot, but the 2015 tournament in Clearwater Beach had more than 50 competitive teams and the popularity continues to grow.
The Center of Anna Maria Island entered a team that included Center employees Drew Mitchell and Chris Culhane, along with Sean McCarthy, Colleen McCarthy, Nate Talucci, David Greene, Aaron Parkin, John Colman and Joanna Baugh.
While they didn’t notch a win at Coquina, they definitely had fun. The islanders lost 5-1 to Lakeland United, but bounced back to earn a 2-2 tie against Stil Kicking in their second match. They then dropped their final Saturday match by an 8-6 score to Still Kicking, dashing their National championship hopes for this year.
To learn more about Major Beach Soccer, go online to majorbeachsoccer.com.
Key Royale golf news
Men’s golf action at Key Royale Club was limited to a couple of rounds Aug. 1 due to a rain-soaked course. The men played a nine hole individual-low-net match in the morning. Dennis Schavey carded a 5-under-par 27 to earn clubhouse bragging rights for the day. Hugh Holmes Jr. was alone in second place with a 1-under-par 31.
The men were back on the course later in the day for a nine-hole modified-Stableford System match. Gary Duncan led the way with a plus-3.
The women played a nine-hole individual-low-net match Aug. 2 that saw Phyllis Roe ride a birdie on number nine to a 1-under-par 31, putting her in first place in Flight A. Helen Pollock, Penny Williams and Liz Lang all carded even-par 32s to finish in a three-way tie for second place.
Janet Razze fired a 4-under-par 28 to earn first place in Flight B, with Terry Westby in second place with 1-under par.
Horseshoe news
Three teams advanced to the knockout stage during Aug. 3 horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall horseshoe pits. The team of Hank Huyghe and Neil Hennessey drew the bye into the finals and watched as Norm Good and Jay Disbrow defeated Tim Sofran and Steve Doyle by a 21-15 score. Huyghe-Hennessey earned bragging rights for the day with a 22-15 victory over Good-Disbrow in the finals.
Huyghe and Hennessey were teammates again during Aug. 6 horseshoe action and they once again found themselves in the winner’s circle after rolling to a 23-4 victory over Sofran and Bob Heiger.
Play gets underway at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria City Hall pits.