NMIFA recognizes its players in banquet

After wrapping up a successful season of soccer on Saipan, the Northern Mariana Islands Football (Soccer) Association hosted its first awards banquet on Saturday at the Fiesta Resort and Spa.

Kickers, coaches, parents, managers, government officials, and supporters of the fledgling organization came out in droves decked in their uniforms for the cherry on top of the cake that was the inaugural season of first class soccer.

NMIFA general secretary Peter Coleman thanked all of the individuals who came together to make the opening season a success in a relatively short amount of time.

“In a little more than one year’s time all of you have contributed to what will, in the opinion of many, become the premier amateur sports association in the CNMI. You have volunteered countless hours of supervision, your energy, and your talent to organize, condition, and train our many athletes,” he said.

Coleman said that the band of parents and players deserve the recognition for bringing the most popular sport on the planet to Saipan, and will be ultimately be responsible for laying the groundwork for the future of soccer in the Marianas.

“In short, as a community, you have created a vibrant, new entity that strives first to promote the interest of and to teach the sport of soccer; second to foster and ultimately sponsor international amateur soccer competitions, and finally to provide supervised programs for the development of individual players, referees, officials, and coaches,” he said.

NMIFA president Jerry Tan echoed Coleman’s thoughts and expressed his surprise of the sudden success of the newest athletic organization in the CNMI, but stressed that there is no room to let up in the season to come.

“Although we are a relatively young organization, we had a great turn out. I couldn’t believe that we had more than 300 kids for our youth league. We are very, very happy and very proud and look forward to our upcoming season. We look forward to a lot more activities and I hope to get continued support from all of the parents because many of you are important volunteers,” said Tan.

All of the organizers, sponsors, and supporters who had a hand in NMIFA’s success were recognized and all of the athletes received trophies for their efforts on the American Memorial Park pitch.

While the board members and respected government officials shared their thoughts and well-wishes to the crowd, they weren’t the only ones poolside at the Garapan resort who were focused on NMIFA’s future.

Youngster Taylor Knecht was one of the little kickers who was on hand to enjoy the festivities and she said that she most enjoyed playing goalie during the season and that she plans to return to the league.

When asked about her favorite part of the new sport, Knecht summed up the thoughts of several of her fellow players by responding with “The games, because they’re funner.”