ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997 TAG: 9704100082
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA GIBSON THE ROANOKE TIMES
Move over, kids, the mothers are getting their kicks - this time on the field.
Like many of her friends, Judy Leacock has spent years pacing the sidelines at youth soccer games, bellowing words of advice to her three kids. (It's a rule in the soccer mom handbook.)
But not anymore.
Oh, Leacock still goes to games to offer words of encouragement, but she keeps all suggestions on strategy and performance to herself.
``I stopped. I don't scream anymore,'' she said. ``[Soccer] is not as easy as it looks.''
Leacock's enlightenment is a direct result of lessons learned while trying the sport for herself, along with fellow soccer moms. What started out in January as an informal gathering has blossomed into an 80-plus member organization dubbed the Roanoke Women's Soccer League, which will begin its first official season in May.
The group was organized by Sharon McCulley, who has coached soccer in Roanoke for 17 years, including eight as head coach of the girls' team at Patrick Henry High School.
She said these are not your typical soccer games.
``It's the most polite soccer game you've ever been to,'' McCulley said. ``If someone knocks someone else down, everything has to stop so they can help each other up and say `I'm sorry!'''
But it's that atmosphere of considerate fellowship that players say gives the league its charm and appeal.
``It's a lot of fun. It's a lot of laughing and it's a lot of talking,'' said Donna Krehbiel, who, like most of the players, had very little experience when she started. ``Nobody cares if they win or lose. It's just for fun.''
Pat Williams, one of about a half-dozen women who drive from Bedford to play, said the experience has been an educational one.
``I've learned that when you're in your 40s, it takes a longer time for bruises to fade,'' Williams joked. ``And the older you get, the harder it is to stop the momentum. So we spend a lot of time running into each other and saying `Sorry! Sorry!' ''
McCulley said she was approached last fall by several women who wanted her to teach them the fundamentals of the sport. She agreed and scheduled some initial clinics, but it wasn't enough to satisfy them.
``They want to play,'' she said. ``A lot of these women went through school before Title IX, so this is an opportunity for them to play a team sport.''
In January, McCulley started reserving time at the Lancerlot in Vinton, a small indoor facility that could accommodate the women for three sessions per week on Wednesday and Friday evenings. She obtained insurance for the group through the Roanoke Valley Youth Soccer Club, which also provides equipment.
Games weren't exactly pretty in the early days, McCulley recalled
``If the ball came to one of them they would just kick it,'' she said. ``It didn't matter where, they would just get it off their foot. But in the weeks we've been playing, I've really seen a lot of improvement.''
Instead of having organized teams, the women, most of whom are in their 30s, 40s and 50s, would choose up when they got to the Lancerlot and play six against six.
``I was a little afraid to do teams at first because I thought it might be too competitive,'' McCulley said. ``They just wanted to be out there for fun. But now they've told me they want to do teams.''
For the upcoming summer season, the women plan to form teams of 10 each and play seven against seven on the Reserve Avenue field at River's Edge Sports Complex. Games will likely be on weeknights and last about an hour.
McCulley said having set teams will allow each person to choose a position she likes best and expand her skills. Ian Spooner and other members of the Roanoke Wrath professional soccer team are also planning clinics the last two weeks of this month to teach the women skills they'll need for the outdoor game.
Although they've advanced to organized teams (one has already been named the ``Hot Flashes''), league members say they still aren't interested in having referees.
``We don't need 'em,'' McCulley said. ``We're too nice.
``We're teaching them rules and it's not like they're going to hurt anyone. They all realize everyone has to get up and go to work the next day or run the house or whatever.''
Signups are ongoing for the first session of the RWSL's summer league, which will run May-July. New individuals and teams may then sign up for the second session, which will be August-October. The teams plan to play one-hour games on weeknights and possibly weekends. The fee will be approximately $5 per month, which covers the cost of insurance through the Roanoke Valley Youth Soccer Club. Registration forms are available at the Soccer Stop on Franklin Road. For more information, call the RVYSC office at 772-3871, ext. 5.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JANEL RHODA/THE ROANOKE TIMES. Pam Bennington dribblesby CNBher way past teammates Janet Keilman (left) and Lydia Leffler during
a clinic game of crab soccer (ran on N-1). color.