Soccer Showcase coming to Kane
Fans across Districts 9 and 10 and the Southern Tier of New York will visit Paul R. Miller Stadium in Kane on Sunday, Jul. 28, when talented high school players display their skills at the 2024 NY/PA Corporate Cup Soccer Showcase.
Started as just a boys' match between the states in 2017, the Showcase has become a celebration of the sport, which has seen incredible growth, as evidenced by the four games now played.
The girls started playing in 2018, and in 2022, co-organizers Kris Linderman and Dave Talbot added the silver matches due to the large number of players trying out.
The Silver and Gold girls' and boys' teams will include 22 selections, announced after the Apr. 14 final tryout at Paul R. Miller. Two tryouts were held in the fall, and the third is on Apr. 7 at the field.
Linderman looks forward to the final workouts that include many local players who've appeared in previous Cups.
"I think it's more intense in the spring because they know final selections are coming up," he said. "This is the eighth year and I've never really seen a bad tryout session. The kids give all their effort, and I've been impressed by how hard the players try."
Bradford's Jim Warnick heads the PA girls' coaching staff, which includes assistants Rachel Smith from Ridgway/ Johnsonburg, Kane's Brittany Sprinkle, Chris Kurtz from Curwensville, Brockway's Mike Puhala, AJ Lucas, and Travis Cowburn from Bradford.
Warren head coach Steffan Blair is the boy's head coach. Assistants are Ridgway/johnsonburg's TJ Weaver, Mike Shaffer from St. Marys, Bradford's Peter Butler, Port Allegany's Aaron Clark (Silver head coach), Brookville's David Reitz, and Don Montgomery
from Clarion-limestone will guide the boys.
"After the tryouts in the fall, they pretty much know who the top 10 players are for each state," Linderman said of the selection process. "What's difficult is the middle group, where players are all pretty close talent-wise, but unfortunately, only 22 make the first team, so there will be tough decisions."
The co-organizer, from Olean, has loved seeing former foes come together for the matches and beyond.
"One of the great things we've realized is that a lot of these kids from different schools have become great friends, and honestly, it's something we never really anticipated when we started, so that's pretty cool."
Linderman noted the momentum for the Showcase began to pick up after the second year, which included the girls.
"The first year, because it was new, we had to convince athletic directors and players to actually try out. After that went well, we added the girls, and that went well. Here we are in year eight, and we have 230 kids trying out, and that is astounding."
The Kane High School stadium will be the southernmost venue for the Cup, previously played at St. Bonaventure (2017), University of Pitt-bradford (20182019), Olean's Bradner Stadium (2020-2021), Bradford's Park Way Field (2022), and last year at Allegany-limestone High School in New York.
"Bradford and Olean are our central locations," Linderman said. "So, we're stepping outside the box a bit being in Kane, but it's a wonderful facility with a lot of capacity, so it's a great venue. We've got a couple of different things planned, and I'm confident it will all come together, but we still have a lot of work."
The pregame ceremonies, during which participants are escorted
onto the field by youth soccer players, are second to none and bring a World Cup feel to the event. The organizers also do a great job entertaining fans throughout.
"We've grown so much that the kids expect we'll put on a good event, and I would hate to not be able to do it," Linderman said. "But at the same time, there's a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes, gathering funding, and doing the work, which takes a lot of time."
Admission to the event, funded by sponsorships, is free. The co-organizer said those interested in getting involved can email him – rslinderman@verizon. net.
Linderman feels the event will boost business in town on game day.
"There will be a lot of visitors in Kane, and while we have food trucks, there are always people who go to a restaurant afterward, so places that are open will see business, which is cool to see."
Social media has been crucial to the Cup's growth.
"It's helped us a lot," Linderman said. "In fact, without it, I don't think we would have seen the growth, especially over the last few years. Facebook and Instagram have been big, and even though some stuff you'll find on those platforms isn't great, they've really helped us out."
The Facebook page is NY/PA Corporate Cup Soccer Showcase, and Instagram is @ny/pa_soccer_showcase.
Pregame ceremonies for the Girls Silver match are at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. for the boys, and the Girls Gold pregame is at 4:30 p.m. and the boys at 7 p.m.
Matches between Showcase Alumni, held for the first-time last year, will be held the day before the big event. Interested former players can get more details by emailing Linderman.
New York won all but last year's Gold boy's match.