A young Stettler girl has just returned home with a world championship and a brightly shining gold medal, a success which she looks forward to repeating in the years to come.
Alicia Coules, playing soccer with the Red Deer Renegades, won the world championship in the U14 category at the Disney Cup International Soccer Tournament in Orlando, Florida.
Having played on a Stettler soccer team for only one year, Alicia has been with the Renegades for five years now and she hopes her soccer skills will carry her to further successes.
“It was great, like if you think about it, it was playing with teams coming from all over the world,” said Alicia as to what she was feeling after winning her gold medal and lifting her trophy.
Playing as a midfield playmaker, Alicia said she did not score any goals in the tournament but she did have five assists to her credit.
“I like the competition in soccer, it is the motivation in the sport that attracts me, and the foot work” Alicia said in reference to her passion for the sport.
Alicia thinks of soccer not only as a practice of sport but also as a springboard that will lift her to the next stage in a career that is likely to be sports-focused.
“I am looking forward to going to college and university with a soccer scholarship,” Alicia said.
“I would like to study health and fitness.”
Happy with the Red Deer Renegades for the time being, Alicia Coules plans to stay with the team until she can play to the limit in the U18 category and then she will be seeking a scholarship to continue playing at the college level.
“I would like to go to a woman’s league and hopefully make it to Team Canada,” she said.
Among the participants at the Florida tournament at the ESPN World of Sport Complex were teams from Brazil, Great Britain, Haiti, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, and the United States.
Each team played at least four games before advancing to a single-elimination tournament format. Championship games in various age divisions from under-9 through under-18 took place July 17.
Disney Cup International Soccer Tournament has been organized annually since 1999 with more than 200 teams having taken part so far.