Of course, people from the Midlands may know the place, but mention “soccer” and “Lugoff” in the same sentence and you might as well be speaking Swahili. However, there is at least one person attempting to spread the good news – “THERE IS SOCCER IN LUGOFF!”
Coach Andy Bean has been involved in Lugoff-Elgin Demon soccer for more than five years, but this year is only in his second at the helm of the girl’s varsity program. Taking over a program in only its sixth year of existence that had gone 1-11 the year before was no easy task for Coach Bean.
Neither was improving the team to 8-13 in his first season, nor was hosting the 2008 Wateree Kickoff Classic – the first soccer tournament hosted in school history. However, if you know anything about the math teacher/head coach it’s that there is a logical process for everything – no worries!
“Hosting a tournament for the first time was a challenge because there is always the thought in the back of your mind of, ‘Am I leaving something out that needs to be done?’ There are expenses that you have to take into account, such as the referees, gate workers for the tickets, referee assignor fees, etc. Then you have to plan on ways of getting the money to pay the expenses, plus try to make a plan to have some profit. You have to think and plan every aspect of the tournament,” according to coach Andy Bean.
Mustering support for soccer hasn’t always been the easiest task at a school known more for its wrestling than its football, but Coach Bean is getting results, “the athletic department was very supportive when I pitched the idea to them at the end of last season and the ABLE Club (L-E Boosters) has also contributed by assisting us in getting some financial support for the event. Honestly, the biggest obstacle was trying to get some teams to commit to participate in the event.”
The inaugural Wateree Kickoff Classic featured Class 4A North Augusta, Class 3A Lugoff-Elgin, as well as Class 2A Blue Ridge and Andrew Jackson.
Although this was Lugoff-Elgin’s first venture in hosting a tournament, Blue Ridge Coach Rollie Sumwalt had nothing but praise for the tournament, “great tournament and Andy was a first class host. Everything was good, trainers were active and efficient, and we loved it.”
Despite a disappointing finish for the hosts (0-3), Coach Bean is optimistic for the 2008 squad’s potential, “there were a lot of positives to take from the team during this tournament. Most of them were just moments in games that showed some promise. Many of the new and younger players showed much improvement in completing passes and getting their heads up to see the field. Also, the decisions that the younger players were making, on and off of the ball, were positive moments that I believe we can build on as a team.”
If there is one thing that sets Coach Bean apart from other coaches (aside from his extensive Pez dispenser collection), it is his optimism and expectation for a player to reach their full potential. Just mentioning the names of Lugoff-Elgin All-Tournament selections April Hawkins and Sy Garrison sends Coach Bean reeling.
“When I have April on the field, I know I have somebody out there who will never give up. She has great potential to be a leader on the field, and with a little more composure, a great play-maker on the field as well,” said Bean “Sy Garrison has been showing great work ethic in the matches we have had so far. She has the best composure on the ball out of anyone on the team, and is poised to make some great plays during this season. I know that I can always count on Sy to play hard and make sure the other team knows that she is on the field.”
The task for the Lady Demons now, is the most basic and perhaps most difficult task of the game. “The biggest challenge that I think that I am going to face this year is changing the mentality of the girls,” said Bean “Getting them to understand and execute a tactical system of play (rather than the ol' kick the ball up field and try to score as fast as possible method) is proving to be a bit of a headache as I plan training sessions.”
Of course, for the (relatively) young father of two there are virtues aplenty in building a program. There are the immediate lessons and joys of the present, balanced with expectations and hopes for the future.
“I do intend to attempt to host the 2nd Annual Wateree Kickoff Classic next season. That is, of course, as long as I break even on my expenses from this year's event. I believe that the facilities improvement will have been completed by this time next season, so it would be nice to increase the number of teams just a bit. We would then have the fields to accommodate some additional matches as well as pre-game activities for all the teams,” said Coach Bean. “Also, I would like to even out the competition a bit more. As you can see from the results, the competition was not all that even across all the teams. If I made the competition more even, we could start to see some exciting finishes to the tournament.”
As an alumni who was present for the first ever Lady Demon soccer team in 2001, the progression of soccer in Kershaw County as a whole is more than tangible. More than winning seasons and rankings. More than big wins over rivals and playoff berths. It is evident in the efforts and deeds of people like Andy Bean.
Ex: The 2008 Wateree Kickoff Classic
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