Spirit filled the air

June gloom became bright, warm sunshine Sunday afternoon at the Costa

Mesa Farm Sports Complex, which was buzzing with spirit, color and

pageantry at the Daily Pilot Cup championship matches.

But what made this event happen is community involvement from the

parents to the coaches, from the referees to the school

administrators who promoted the Pilot Cup on campus, actively

recruited a coach (or coaches) and showed up at the registration

table. (Kaiser’s principal, Stacy Holmes, actually coached one of the

teams.)

Sure, it wasn’t perfect. But it was close. Costa Mesa’s Kirk

McIntosh, the tournament director and mastermind behind the whole

operation, dealt with controversies and protests like a true

professional, dousing every fire in the precise manner of his trade

as an attorney.

Despite a few rocky moments and an allegation from one team

against another about ineligible players, the fourth annual Daily

Pilot Cup seemed to once again capture the imagination of each

participating school and bring together one of the truly impressive

community school gatherings in Orange County and beyond. In fact, I

can’t think of another event in the Newport-Mesa area that features

the vast majority of every single public and private school (with

third-through-fifth graders).

I witnessed good sportsmanship from players, coaches, referees and

parents during the boys fifth- and sixth-grade title match Sunday as

Rea chalked up its third straight championship with a 3-0 victory

over Kaiser. With Rea a feeder school for Estancia, Eagles boys

soccer coach Steve Crenshaw has another bumper crop headed his way.

In the boys third- and fourth-grade championship match, Mariners

Christian shut out Our Lady Queen of Angels, 5-0, after Mariners

Christian ended Rea’s attempt to repeat as champions in Sunday

morning’s semifinals with a 5-0 win.

In the girls fifth- and sixth-grade title contest, powerhouse

Carden Hall, which appeared determined from the outset, beat Our Lady

Queen of Angels, 4-1. Defending champion Kaiser was knocked off in

the semifinals by Our Lady Queen of Angels, 2-1.

Andersen’s third- and fourth-grade girls team joined Rea’s 5-6

boys as repeat champions as Andersen edged Kaiser, 3-2, for all the

marbles Sunday.

With nearly 100 teams and 1,900 kids participating in the Pilot

Cup, I can’t imagine a better way for these boys and girls to bond

before ending their respective school years and heading off to summer

vacation.

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In a special note to all Pilot Cup coaches, every school roster

that was faxed, emailed or mailed to the Daily Pilot sports desk will

appear in publication this week. Today is the deadline for submitting

rosters.

...

A big thanks to McIntosh for making the Pilot Cup happen. It’s

amazing what an idea can do or how far it can go. There are few

events on the Daily Pilot sports calendar as unique an environment as

the Pilot Cup. We’re already planning for next year’s fifth annual

Cup.