For the Springbank Soccer Club’s U17 Tier 1 boys’ team, the 2018-19 indoor season has been a time of transition. After finishing second in Calgary’s Tier 1 U17 outdoor league in 2018, and competing at the ensuing Tier 1 provincial championships, the Springbank U17 team formed a new, smaller roster for the 2018-19 indoor seven-vs.-seven season. “We started off the season with a couple of losses,” said 16-year-old midfielder Josh Abel, who joined Springbank this season from the Foothills Soccer Club. “We have a completely new roster. We weren’t used to each other, but we picked it up and we’ve only lost one game [during the regular season].” The new squad’s lack of chemistry showed during the Tier 1 seeding round. Springbank lost its first four games in a row, putting the team at the bottom of the standings and ensuring it would have to compete in Group B for the remainder of the indoor season. Since then, results have picked up and the club has gone 5-1-1, with 19 goals scored and just five conceded. Springbank is currently fourth in the eight-team Group B, with three regular-season fixtures remaining. Despite that positive momentum, Springbank’s most recent outing was a 2-1 setback Feb. 9 to Rangers FC 03. The result marked the team’s first defeat since Dec. 1, 2018. “I think we could’ve played a little better,” Abel said. “We missed a lot of chances. If we’d taken those chances, we would have won the game. But the other team played really well.” While having fewer players can make matters difficult, Abel said the smaller bench is beneficial for each player’s development, as it allows for more time on the field. “We obviously get a lot of minutes,” he said. “We’re able to develop individually, and the more we play, the more we get used to each other. With bigger teams, they don’t get the experience as much as we do.” Springbank’s U17s will be back in action Feb. 23, when the team takes on the Chinooks Arsenal at 8:30 a.m. All seven-vs.-seven games take place at Foothills Soccer Club’s indoor facility in southeast Calgary.
