CAPERS ELEMENTARY LEAGUE: HELPING KIDS FALL IN LOVE WITH SOCCER

THE JOY OF THE GAME...these young players from Sydney River and Greenfield had a blast and got to know CAPERS skipper Joe Mac at Elementary League Matchday One

THE hugely successful CAPERS Elementary League project continues to be a shining beacon that lights up the influence our CBU CAPERS Varsity Soccer programs can have on young local athletes.

On Thursday girls and boys from Coxheath, Brookland, Sydney River, Riverside and Centre Scolaire Etoile de L'Acadie had a ball on Ness Timmons Field in six terrific match-ups that were refereed by CBU CAPERS Men's players Jack Harrington, Lilian Benjamin, Andre Beecher and Jamie Nicholson.

Players, coaches and watching parents lapped up the action as over 100 youngsters between the five schools ran, tackled, scored and smiled their way through some brilliant action. The energy around the field was awesome.

Jubilee Elementary School Vice Principal Steve Ranni, a driving force behind the project since the collaboration with Soccer Cape Breton and CBU began in the Fall of 2023, has now pieced together the schedule for this week's matches.

And he revealed: "We are now up to 17 teams playing at the CBU site and we have another seven playing on the Northside.  That's 24 teams, 13 schools, of elementary students playing soccer for their school. All of the organising bodies and those CBU players involved should be proud of themselves for being a part of making this happen."

The CAPERS Elementary League (CEL) gives some of the youngest emerging talents on the island a priceless chance to play on the top-class facilities at Ness Timmons Field and rub shoulders with the players who star for the University in a program that has won two USPORTS Canadian National titles in 2017 and 2023.

For Regional Director of Soccer Development Iain King that is invaluable and he said: "One of the coolest things about Thursday was how many coaches came up as I was watching the action and thanked us for how the CBU players had interacted with the kids and encouraged and helped them through the games.

"That speaks to the culture that Head Coach Deano Morley builds within the squad, our French midfielder Lilian Benjamin was happily chatting away to the players from Etoile de L'Acadie, Irish keeper Jack Harrington was roaring on every great save a young keeper made.

"Dre Beecher our Canadian defender has a great way with the kids and Jamie Nicholson from England loved being a the heart of it all too. We have two of our captains Joe Mac and Mateo Goldsztein organising the ref crews each week which is a nice leadership project for them to ensure the youngsters playing get the best experience possible.

"The hard work and support of Steve and Brian Tierney at Active Healthy Living is hugely appreciated by myself as we make this a cornerstone piece of the soccer calendar on the island.

"We saw so much talent on the field in Matchday One and it would be great to see every one of these kids in our SCB Skill Centre program which opens on Saturday October 18 in the CBU Dome."

This season the project is backed by Cape Breton Victoria Regional Centre for Education (CBVRCE) Active Healthy Living and it is hitting every goal set out for it.

If your player is interested in SCB Skill Centre and you haven't registered yet please contact SCB Admin Assist Lisa Lavery for more details on admin@soccercapebreton.com

This week's schedule is outlined below: