Shelburne Thunder U13 has solid start to new season

July 3, 2025 · 0 Comments

Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

The Shelburne Thunder U13 team is having a stellar season after putting a lot of hard work and dedication into their sport so they could be more competitive this year.

Last year, the team managed to win only one game all season. This year, they are in third place and winning games.

The turnaround was the result of some innovative thinking and hard work by the coaching staff.

“This was a big time commitment, and that commitment made all the difference,” explained head coach Gary McCreadie. “The core of the team has been together for several years, but this year we brought in some new players. We started tryouts in the fall. We were doing indoor training in the winter and playing in a really competitive indoor league.”

The indoor training made a huge difference for the players who could hone their skills through the winter months. Coaches brought in special fitness trainers to work with the kids.

They also brought in a goalie coach to work with the goaltenders.

The coaches started thinking of different ways to help the players improve.

“We’ve done some innovative things like playing music during practice, and we bring in a video camera to record games,” McCreadie said. “We show them the videos late so they can learn.”

The coaches also got the service of a soccer expert from England who reviewed some of their game footage. Through a Zoom call, he explained how the team could improve in different aspects of the game.

This new style of coaching has helped the kids improve on the soccer pitch, learn some discipline, and have fun while playing the sport at the same time.

Coaches McCreadie, Bryan Brown and Andrew Magenis, team manager Alana Hamill, and fundraising manager Tara McCreadie, have all made a big effort to improve the team this season.

The team is hoping to continue with the winning season and relying on their skills and training to be a competitive entry this year.