Soccer event a link for cultures

Forget for a moment about dribbling, passing and corner kicks.

The Mayor's Cup youth soccer tournament, being held at Bettye Wilson, Kellog-Zaher and Ed Fountain fields this weekend, is about far more.

It's a chance for teams from five foreign countries to come to the United States to show off their style of play and experience some of the sights and bits of American culture about which they've only read or heard.

"We talk about America," said Roland Varkus, who coaches the Under-17 boys Borussia Moenchengladbach team from Germany. "They should see America."

Teams from Russia, England, Canada and Mexico and the German team are competing against teams from 19 states, including a handful of local squads.

The tournament, which has boys and girls brackets in five age groups, concludes today.

The memories, though, will last a while longer.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to play against American teams and Mexican teams," said Liam Bambridge, a coach of the Brighton (England) College team. "It's a very different style. The teams here are technically a lot better than us."

The Brighton team, competing in the boys Under-19 division, brought along a group of seven cheerleaders. Even though the team lost its first three games, the coaches and players were all smiles, basking in the sun on a near-70-degree day.

"This is summer weather for us," said James Jones, who also coaches the Brighton team. "If we had this weather in June, we'd be happy."

The hit of the tournament, though, is the Borussia Moenchengladbach team, which has players who are a part of the German youth national program.

"They're the real deal," said Richard Ryerson, director of coaching for the Downtown Las Vegas Soccer Club. "These are guys who are going to be playing in the German professional leagues and very shortly."

Moenchengladbach will play for a bracket championship at 10 a.m. today at Bettye Wilson Park after winning its first four matches, including two against Las Vegas teams, by a combined 22-0 score.

"Their technique was amazing, what they did with the ball and how they controlled the game. They're the best team I've ever coached against," said Tom Rogge, who coaches the Downtown club's Under-17 Gold boys team. "It's great. You get to see the different cultures.

"The world is a lot smaller when we're all together like this."

The German team is learning, too.

"We came here to learn more about fitness," Varkus said. "The American soccer player is very fit. We have a good technique and tactic, but we want to learn from the American fitness."

It's not just about the game, though.

Varkus said his team saw the Grand Canyon on Wednesday.

Between matches Sunday, players from the Burnaby Blast, an Under-17 girls team from British Columbia, were headed out to do some shopping.

"It's been great for the girls," said Blast coach Leo de Souza, whose team toured the Strip and saw a Cirque du Soleil show. "We're proud of how we've played.

"We finished second in our pool. The girls have worked hard, and they're having fun."