Kitsap Pumas Academy continues to grow, set higher goals

James Ritchie, far right, and his Pumas Academy U-17 squad pose for a team photo before last Sunday's match with Emerald City FC Fewing at Lower Woodland. (David Falk)

The Kitsap Pumas are establishing a youth program in Bremerton for all of West Sound. Last Sunday January 3rd the Pumas U-17 Academy team coached by Youth Director James Ritchie traveled to Lower Woodland fields in Seattle to take on the State League (Div. One) Champions Emerald City FC U-17's Green coached by Peter Fewing. Fewing will take over as Kitsap Pumas head coach at the pro level this year.

The match was a chance for the Pumas Academy guys to face top-notch talent and measure themselves against the best. Kitsap hung around for a while in the match, and it very well could have been 3:3 at the midway point of the second half had linesmen been calling the match (Fewing's son was the lone 'official.') ECFC held a ball out that might have crossed fully over. As it was, ECFC pulled away for a 6:2 win. I spoke with James Ritchie today about the match and the Pumas Youth Programs.

How did you recruit / choose the players for the Pumas U-17's?

"We held tryouts for our Pumas Pro-Youth teams back in June and had over 40 young players tryout for our U-17 team. It was hard to whittle it down, but I am pleased with the end result. We also have a boys' U-12 and girls' U-13 team that are playing indoor just now and at a very high level.
Recently we have also started a "Puma Cubs" program that is for players aged 3 to 10. This is a really fun (year-round) program designed to give the wee ones a chance to get out and grow a love for the game. We currently have 45 players and if anyone is interested in this or any of our programs they can contact me at our office; 360 377 6008."

How often to you practice?

"The U17's practiced together once a week in the summer. This tailed off a bit in the fall due to the players' club commitments. However, we have been on the field many times over the last few weeks and I will look to get them out playing together as often as possible. The additional training, opportunity and perspective these players are gaining has allowed for tremendous growth in the boys' games and their character in a very short time."

The Pumas clear their goal from an ECFC attack. (David Falk)

What is the end goal of the academy team?

"The Pro Youth Academy has many goals:

1. We want to bring professional training to the young player for as low a cost as possible.

2. The Pumas want to help the players to reach their goals in the
sport. Myself and other Pumas staff are working hard to have the boys seen by high ranking college coaches. We are entering the U-17 team into college showcases and I am even looking into setting up a showcase on the Peninsula in 2010.

3. The long term goal is to prepare the players to become professional athletes and possibly win a contract with our first team. Only a few of them may get the opportunity. But, I am looking forward to the day where I will see some of our Pro Youth players run onto the pitch as stars of the Kitsap Pumas first team."

How did the guys play against ECFC? Pick out a few highlights and a few areas of concern.

"This is the best team they have come up against to date - it was a great challenge. We were missing a few players and that made the challenge of playing the state's D1 champions even harder. We knocked the ball around well at points and we did trouble them many times. However, we must defend better as a team. It was great fun.I loved finally being at the side of a field with the Gaffer (Fewing).

Coach Fewing meets some Pumas players before the match. In February Fewing will be representing the blue and white stripes as he runs first (pro) team tryouts for the Kitsap Pumas of the USL. (David Falk)

"I introduced him to the Pro-Youth lads and they were all very exited (possibly a little nervous) to meet him. His EC team played with all the skill and drive of what I knew a Pete Fewing team would deliver. It is a bit bizzare that the first time Coach Fewing was part of a Pumas function he was coaching the opposition! I just cant wait to see him in our blue and white. So now it's coach Fewing-1, Coach Ritchie-0. He has the bragging rights for now. I will keep playing him until I get a win and then I will make sure I never have to go up against him again!

"The lads will take so much from this game. They played against a great team with a fantastic coach and held their own for large parts of the match. They have learned that if you make a mistake against a team of this ability that they will make you pay and that is what happened. We had some great individual performances from a lot of our players and I thought our keeper had a very good game. There are a lot of positives to be taken out of this game and I thank Coach Fewing or helping set this up."

Ritchie, center, talks with the Kitsap Pumas Academy team before kickoff. (David Falk)

Tell us a little bit more about the Pumas Academy Programs.

"We will have tryouts for our U-18 team this spring. We also hope to replicate our initial success with a U-16/17 team. This program is supplemental to the club that they are already playing for and I would encourage coaches to send players to the tryouts. Our academies at other age groups are already receiving high praise, so please keep an eye on our website for information coming soon for 2010 registration.

"We are also launching our first-ever reserve team at the professional level this year. This will be mainly for college players that still have eligibility but are talented enough to possibly turn pro after their senior year. This will give some of our current Pro Youth team a chance to stay with the club whilst still at college. We will be picking players for the reserves through our first team open & invitational tryouts this February."

The Kitsap Pumas U-17's will be in action this weekend at the Highline Premier Extreme College Showcase tournament.

Application forms can be found at www.kitsapsoccerclub.com.