Isn't it beautiful? We had such a wonderful time. Next year we will be doing both the Daytona AND Clearwater Socceronthebeach Tournies.

Dispite never having played on the beach, our athletes adjusted well. Due to our reputation in the higher ranks of youth soccer, we were placed into the pool of top teams for this format.

First game on Friday morning was against the U12 team that won the Daytona tournament in June. You couldn't tell that our kids hadn't been born to play in the sand. The competition was equal across the board. After a hard fought battle the score ended in a 1-1 tie. In beach soccer, ties are declared by who had the most corner kicks. So we went down by a loss of 1 corner kick against us.

Game two on Friday afternoon was a scorcher. But the boys adjusted well and played a splendid game. Winning 3-0 against a nearby Largo team that had also played in Daytona. Who I might add, had the friendliest parents. We enjoyed very nice conversation and adventure sharing experiences with fun loving opposing parents. Not typical in our level of play, and a very nice change.

Saturday morning, we played the 2nd place Daytona winners. At half time the score was tied 2-2, and our kids came out fighting. They dominated the 2nd half and walked away with a 6-2 victory.

Because the first team we challenged had a 3-0 record to our 2-1 record, they advanced to the finals on Sunday.

Coaches adjenda for the weekend was for the boys to have a new experience and learn the game as they played. Hoping for improvement with each game they tackled. In that respect, we walked away champions.

The entire experience was an enjoyable one, and I already have the 2006 tournaments penciled into my planner. I am hoping to share this experience with my colleagues and next year have so many Naples teams entered there will be more sharks on land then in the waters.

No grass, cleats or shinguards.