Pohnpei Kids Soccer Club holds second annual tournament to close season

By Bill Jaynes The Kaselehlie Press

May 6, 2023

Pohnpei— The Pohnpei Kids Soccer Club closed its second season with a tournament at the PICS High School track and field. The Pohnpei Kids Soccer Club is for children 14 and under and, during the season, meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the PICS field.

The club was started by Liz Terk Mudong and Adele Haigh, whose elementary school children were interested in soccer. “We just started showing up at the field with some soccer balls, and now we have over 60 kids that come to play every week,” said Mudong.

Organizers say that the children in the club represent all four FSM states, several countries outside of the FSM, and most of the elementary schools in the Kolonia and Nett areas.

“It’s great to see all these different kids come together to play soccer and support each other,” said Mudong. “We have received a lot of support from the Fijian community, who supported coaching and refereeing when we first started. Especially coach Penaia Seruvakula.”

This is the second season of running the club over the course of 2 years. The Pohnpei Kids Soccer Club is now part of the Pohnpei Soccer Association and is receiving additional support for coaching and refereeing from Albert Carlot and Vasantha Senarathgoda, who run the Pohnpei Soccer Association.

The tournament for under 14 group of members was round-robin style, with each of the six teams consisting of nine players playing each other in 20-minute games. The third-place team was the orange team, second place went to the turquoise team, and the gray team took first place.

There were only two teams for the under-seven-year-old members, so they played three games against each other for the best of three games. The red team won that series.

The winning teams each received gift certificates to Ace Office Supply, and the second and third-place winners received umbrellas from the College of Micronesia FSM.

The club also handed out special awards for outstanding players of the season. For the seven-and-under teams, Viliame Delai scored the most goals, Kenoi Mori was the Most Improved Player, and Levi Hawley was the Most Valuable Player.

The fourteen and under players had several awardees. Gelo Silbanuz was the most dedicated.

Travis Henly scored the most goals. Deshone Sebastian was the best offensive player. Freddie Pelep was the best defensive player. Isaiah Duff was the best team player. The best goalie was Ronie Chigiyal. The Most Improved player was Eroni Cinavi, and Genuine Isom was the most valuable player.

The Rotary Club donated gear, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community FSM donated eight soccer balls.

“The Ahmadiyya Muslim community believes that the kids of today are the leaders of tomorrow,” Imam Serjeel Ahmed said. “Islam teaches its adherents to always be of service to humanity, and the community hopes that more opportunities will continue to arise for the betterment of the community at large. As the Prophet Muhammad has taught, ‘love of nation is part of faith’, and the community seeks peace amongst all.”

Mudong’s husband, one of the “soccer dads”, built a second set of goals for the club, and several soccer families also donated so that the club could purchase balls and other equipment.

Several people and organizations provided much-needed assistance to the club, including Volunteer Referees and coaches, The Micronesia Challenge, Congressman Ferny Perman, FSM Department of Health and Social Services, the College of Micronesia FSM, United Nations Development Program, 7 Stars Store, LP Gas, Turn

Leaf, Dr. And Mrs. Padwick Gallen, Dr. Merlyn Abello-Alfonso, Mr. Brandon J Tara, Mrs. Miyuki Perman, Mrs. Sophia Pretrick, Mr. Mathew Chigiyal, Mr. Youky Susaia Jr., Mr. Dan Gilmete, Mr. Bradley Phillip Jr, Micro Printers, the Lowe and Hawley families for helping the club to raise additional funding, several anonymous donors, and all of the soccer families for their donations and support with logistics.