Life lessons in soccer

MVCA's only school sport allows kids to develop skills and

competitive spirit

POLSON - In a private school with only 61 kids, one might think that the options for sports would be limited. That's not the case at the Mission Valley Christian Academy in Polson. They don't let their small size prevent them from competing in the beautiful game of soccer.

"It's a team effort," senior Jessamy Lake, a member of the girls' team, said. "I like having my team back me up if I have a bad day."

With both a girls' and boys' team, the MVCA Sting compete in the Montana Christian Athletic Association and bolster their ranks not only with just high schoolers but middle school aged players as well.

"We've been close every game," girls' head coach George Hart said.

The girls' team has 13 kids while the boys team has 10. Sometimes the school will play co-ed friendlies for full -team action and the MCAA uses a seven-on-seven format to help accommodate smaller team sizes.

"It's a little different style of soccer," boys head coach Dever Graham said. "It's fun for the boys, there is more space and more passing of the ball."

While the school does find itself matching up middle schoolers against high schoolers on other teams in the MCAA, the skills of some of these kids can easily make up for the size difference.