In Cover photo –L-R Back Row – Avery Clarke, Grace Crawford, Brooklyn Bowers, Rachel Gelinas, Charli Dooling, Clover Boyd, Whitney Andrews, Rachel Cameron, Kennedy Potts, Neva Thapa. Bottom Row L-R – Mia Bates, Ava Bates, Ava Anderson, Kiera Hemming, Maddie Reid, Makayla Richardson, Payton Striker. Abscent – Faith Boyd, Ella Coulter.
Spring of 2020 saw the Ontario rep soccer leagues being cancelled. Rather than throw in the towel the Belleville Comets decided to keep the momentum going after a strong winter indoor season by utilizing individual home workouts. Through social media the girls had home workouts during the lockdown when school and sports were all cancelled.
As things eased and people slowly returned to a “normal“ routine, the summer soccer season remained cancelled. The “Return to Play” program was put in place by Ontario Soccer, which enabled small group play or practice but no mixing with other teams.
The Comets now without a league didn’t take this as the end of soccer, but instead coach Anderson converted his large back field into a small field complete with lines and nets. While not a part of the OSA as there was no league, they still adhered to the “Return to Play” standards for Covid safety protocols and created a small loop of teams, forming their own league and played in the “Covid Cup”. This was complete with a winning trophy. Their summer indeed included soccer and a good time was had by all.
The Hope was that there would be some sort of semblance of a winter indoor league or maybe practice sessions at the Loyalist Dome. Unfortunately these sessions were also cancelled. Any time typically reserved by soccer clubs was no longer available.
The Comets were not to be deterred, they acquired their own insurance and with a generous sponsor rented their own practice sessions at the dome.
This team isn’t just a group of strong players, this is a team of dedicated parents, coaches, players, and a manager who safely navigated their way through a pandemic while staying together, playing soccer and staying healthy.
Pictured below – The Belleville Comets rep girl’s u-14 team is coached by L-R John Gelinas Terry Boyd, Christine Andrews (Manager) and Shane Anderson
