An 11U player
celebrates a goal Friday afternoon. (Ed Wright Photo)My first Canton Cup experience was
off-the-charts incredible
BY ED WRIGHT
May 30, 2010, 10:55 a.m.
I've seen Fire and I've seen
Reign, I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end...
And after experiencing the Canton Cup up close and personal for
the first time, I'd like to extend the following praise to everyone who
had anything to do with this incredible explosion of fun: Well done, sirs (and ladies)!
From the minute I pulled into the Independence Park parking lot
Friday afternoon (I figured it was going to take
forever
to find a spot; it took 30 seconds) until the second I pulled out
of the same lot the next day (How's this for service: the director of
the tournament, John Vaughn, drove me to my car in his golf cart), I
had an absolute ball.
I'm not sure how Vaughn and his fellow organizers are able to
pull off the logistical miracles they do -- 10,000 players, 20,000
parents, enough cars to cause a traffic jam on the Mackinac Bridge --
but they do it, year in and year out.
Maybe now that Vaughn is stepping down from his post as the
tournament director, the government can hire him to figure out how to
seal that doggone oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico once and for all. It
can't be
any tougher than making the biggest youth soccer tournament in the
Midwest run as smooth as silk.
Until this weekend, my previous experience with massive youth
sporting events were Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournaments, which I
played in and watched my son play in for several years in the 80s and
90s.
While I had a blast at the Mackers, I walked out of some of them
in need of a tranquilizer, what with all the arguments that broke out
on the courts between players and refs, parents and refs, parents and
parents.
In contrast, the Canton Cup was a tranquilizer.
Everyone I crossed paths with was so pleasant, the games were
well-played and confrontations were basically non-existent, at least
during the 10-plus hours I was there.
Due to ignorance as much as anything, I wasn't a huge fan of
soccer before I took the job as Sports Editor at the local paper six
years ago. But over time, I've grown to love the sport and appreciate
the incredible skill and endurance it takes to excel on the pitch.
It's not only a game that requires amazing talent, but you'd
better be somewhat intelligent, too, with all the angles and
time-and-space dilemmas you're bound to face throughout the course of
the game.
The sport's physicality was on full display this weekend, with
players banging into each other after all-out rushes to win a 50-50
ball. But not once did I see one player challenge another to a fight.
It was all cool, which I thought was really cool.
The Independence Park concourses were laced with food booths,
souvenir stands and balloon rides for the kids.
A team from Kilwinning, Scotland crossed the Atlantic to bring
some international flair to the festivities.
On Saturday, the ultra-talented Michigan Bucks
Developmental League team played a game against Cincinnati.
Is there anything the event's organizers didn't think of?
I
half-expected to turn a corner and bump into David Beckham and one of
the Spice Girls.
After living in this area for most of my adult life, I've come
to expect fantastic results whenever Canton Township throws a party.
But the Canton Cup fully exceeded my greatest expectations.
It's easy to understand now why thousands of people throughout
the Midwest get out their calendars in January, flip to Memorial Day
weekend and with a bright red marker write "CANTON CUP!" over the final
days in May.
Ed Wright
can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.
Top-notch
skills could be found at all the Canton Cup fields this past weekend.
(photo by Ed Wright)
There
were plenty of appetizing food booths available.
A Canton
Celtic player (dark jersey) makes a run during a game against the West
Bloomfield Force. (Ed Wright photo)
Pictured
are four individuals whose contributions are instrumental to the Canton
Cup's success: (from left) Tournament Director John Vaughn, next year's
Director Darryl Noel, Pete Alexander and Greg Sanders.
ED WRIGHT COLUMN
ARCHIVES
Success at the Park is incredible
This pitcher's comeback hit close to home
Wedgewood's performance was off-the-charts
amazing!
CEBL's 8-9-year-old Sixers proved winning
isn't everything
Canton's girls basketball team played like
true champions
There are some 'sick' performances unfolding
around these parts -- and we're not talking Swine Flu
Plymouth's Hahn well deserving of MHSAA's
scholar-athlete award
Unnesessary red
tape is tripping up Zech's college soccer career
Falcusan earns
"Greatest PCEP Female Athlete 2000-09" title with convincing victory
Goble-Rolfe showdown was one for the record
books
Local teams hit the high school basketball
lottery
Unscientific
survey will lead the "greatest" PCEP athlete from the past decade
They
don't make sports games like they used to
Annual poem saluting athletes who
excelled in 2009
Danny Cassidy will be remembered as
a
humble, happy young man who had the jump shot to be envied.
Steelers-Lions
rivalry brings out the best in junior gridiron heroes
Let's bury that crazy John
Glenn-Plymouth play
On
crazy finishes, sharp cornerbacks
and unheralded mid-fielders
Let's hear it
for the band, high school volleyball and 88-cent Corn Flakes
This
All-Star Football team has true
character(s)
The story
behind the creation of
PlymouthCantonSports.com
If you would like to advertise on
PlymouthCantonSports.com or if you have ideas for the site, please send
an e-mail to Ed Wright at info@plymouthcantonsports.com.
