Photo By Staff Sgt. Robert Larson | A player from Team Bloroso attempts a "header," using his head to score a goal, Feb....... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas - As the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI this past weekend, football of another sort was on display at the Biggs Physical Fitness Center. The Fort Bliss Men’s Soccer team held an indoor soccer tournament Feb. 4-5, 2012 to raise funds for a trip to the Cinco de Mayo soccer tournament in San Antonio.
Ten teams gathered at Biggs PFC for an 8 a.m. start. Saturday featured 30-minute games with all teams having a chance to face each other. Sunday was the single elimination bracket leading to the tournament finale, with teams played two 20-minute halves, seeded by how they had finished the day before.
The Fort Bliss men’s soccer team was split into three squads. Teams from the United States Sergeants Major Academy’s international students, the German Air Force, and several local teams from the Fort Bliss and El Paso communities joined them. Each team had at least five members, some as many as 10 members.
While several teams were invited to play, several saw flyers in the local physical fitness centers on post. Sgt. Melvin Thompson, a native of the island of Jamaica and a wheeled vehicle mechanic for the 31st Combat Support Hospital, saw the flyers and decided to get some friends together and enter the tournament.
Sgt. Daniel Escarcega, Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, put together the Black Mambas, a team of fellow soldiers.
“This will help build morale and communication between the players.” said Escarcega, “That’s what we need in our unit too.”
The tournament organizer, 1st Sgt. Herman Groombridge, Headquarters, Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment said he developed the event to help raise funds for future trips that the Fort Bliss team may take, including the one to San Antonio.
The decision to have an indoor tournament versus outdoor was driven by the fact that an outdoor team would require about 18 team members. Groombridge said that he wasn’t sure how many teams would be able to field that many people. He also said he wasn’t sure if he could get the outdoor fields, but knew that he had Biggs PFC.
Groombridge, a life long soccer player and member of the All-Army team in 1993, plays on his unit team. He played for the post team but decided to stop when he was made the full time head coach, not wanting to split time between playing and coaching. He said that he would like to make the tournament an annual event.
“I want people here to know that Fort Bliss has a team, a very good team,” Groombridge said.
With fast and furious action, the teams battled through two days of great “football” action. All three teams from the Fort Bliss soccer team made the semifinals. In the end, a local El Paso team, Team Bloroso, took home the first place trophy.
| Date Taken: | 02.04.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.10.2012 12:33 |
| Story ID: | 83678 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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