July 2010

Larchmont and Mamaroneck Travel
Teams Merge To Form a Winning Team

By Naomi Lowenthal

The Mamaroneck Heat, a U-13 girls’ travel soccer team, finished the spring season in first place in their division with eight wins and one tie. They also scored the most goals (42) and had the least goals scored against them (7). The Heat was also recognized for best sportsmanship. These achievements are particularly remarkable because it is the first season the girls played together as a team.

Last fall, the coaches of the Larchmont Heat and the Mamaroneck Centaurs were faced with a dilemma. Both teams no longer had enough players and it looked as though the teams were going to have to fold. That’s when Erik Eenkema Van Dijk and Barbara Novick, the coaches of the Centaurs, approached Vicki Alcott, the manager of the Heat, and Dan Alcott and Dan Lowenthal, the coaches, to see if they were interested in merging. This was an unusual idea because there had been a long-standing rivalry between the two programs.

Neither the coaches, nor the girls had any idea how the merger would work and if the team would gel. But from the beginning the coaches worked together, the girls cooperated, became friends and had fun. Even the name represented a synthesis of the two teams.

Because of their success this season, the team will move up a division in the fall. And, as a testament to how much they enjoyed playing for the new team, all players are expected to return next season.

 

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