Soccer: A final perspective from The Daily Pilot Cup

Steve Virgen

Seventy-one teams and over 1,000 kids who love soccer made up one

more-than-memorable Daily Pilot Cup in 2001. And volunteers like Kirk

McIntosh made it possible.

The Kaiser girls fifth- and sixth-grade coach turned into referee,

tournament director and my colleague all in one day.

But, McIntosh would be the first to stress, The Daily Pilot Cup is not

about him or the volunteers -- it’s all about the kids. Kids like Jeremy

Anish.

Anish, an 11-year-old from Kaiser Elementary, played his first soccer

games since he underwent critical head surgery five years ago. When Anish

was six, a cinder-block brick accidentally landed on his head and

shattered the right portion of his skull. Tony Anish, his father, said

doctors inserted about 50 titanium pieces in his son’s head.

And it wasn’t until now -- at The Daily Pilot Cup -- that Jeremy was

able to play soccer, the sport he and his father love.

“It’s hard to put into words,” Tony Anish said of watching his son

play.

He coached his son on the Kaiser fifth- and sixth-grade team that

nearly came back in the title game. Jeremy earned the Knights’ first

assist in the second half when Kaiser mounted a comeback.

Said Tony Anish: “Not only was it great to see Jeremy playing soccer,

but for him to have created the first goal in the first game and in the

last (title) game was very, very special.”

The Daily Pilot Cup is all about the kids because in a rare setting

these young soccer athletes have the opportunity to play with their

fellow classmates. That’s where the fun comes from.

“The best part of (the event) is seeing kids coming out and playing

soccer for the first time,” McIntosh said. “The second thing I enjoy is

creating an event that brings an entire community together. The Farm

makes that special. Every field has soccer and that’s a good feeling.

There isn’t really anything like this that I can think of. Hopefully next

year, we’ll have at least one team from every single school in the area.”

The Daily Pilot Cup is not about winning. Not with these kids. They’re

just having fun with their friends. When Isai Vivanos was asked what he

liked most about The Daily Pilot Cup, he didn’t point to his championship

trophy that he and the Rea fifth- and sixth-graders won.

“My teammates made it fun,” said Vivanos, who scored two goals in the

4-3 victory over Kaiser in the title game.

It was also fun to see Laird Hayes referee a game. Where else will an

NFL referee get to be the official of your kid’s soccer game?

With a shortage of volunteers, Hayes, who also coaches soccer at

Orange Coast College, was asked to work the Newport Heights-Our Lady

Queen of Angels game, the third- and fourth-grade boys quarterfinal. He

was there to see his son, Andy, play goalie for Newport Heights. If

you’re wondering about Laird Hayes’ objectivity, Our Lady Queen of Angels

won, 6-0.

Even though there were plenty of tears, the penalty-kick shootouts

provided dramatic endings. This, too, was fun. In The Daily Pilot Cup,

there were six games that ended in shootouts, four in Sunday’s

semifinals.

Even in defeat, Harbor Day girls fifth- and sixth-grade coach Larry

Webb was still delighted about the tournament. After a 1-1 tie, Harbor

Day lost to McIntosh’s Kaiser team, 4-3, in a sudden-death shootout.

“I coached all year round with AYSO,” said Webb. “But, The Pilot Cup

is my favorite time of the year. All the kids get to play with their

classmates. It’s just a lot of fun. I think the whole community owes a

big thank you to Kirk McIntosh. I’m a big fan of the Cup. I know my girls

loved it.”

In closing, I would like to note that there was definite sadness from

the letdown of all those sudden-death, penalty-kick shootout games. But,

win or lose, the competition creates strength that will last a lifetime.

Believe me, that is not an overstatement.