SOCCER LEAGUES TAKE THE GAME INDOORS; AREA SOCCER PLAYERS NOW CAN TAKE PART IN SPORT YEAR ROUND

READY TO DEFEND: The goalie is ready to defend the net as his defense works hard out front during a SEMO Indoor Soccer league game last Thursday at Southeast Missouri State's Houck Field House. The league completed play last week. (Photo by Fred Lynch.)

GETTING HER KICKS: A SEMO Indoor Soccer League player boots the ball down the playing court during a Thursday night game. The league played its games at Southeast Missouri State's Houck Field House and completed its season last week. (Photo by Fred Lynch).

CAPE GIRARDEAU - As two SEMO Indoor Soccer League players sat beside each other during a recent game one asked the other, "Hey, what place are we in.

"I don't know," his teammate answered. "We're not keeping standings. This league's just for fun."

When Craig Billmeyer, president of the Noon Optimist Club, the league's sponsor, heard that, he said he felt pretty good.

Fun.

That's the main thing that is emphasized by Billmeyer, who runs the league, and the rest of the Noon Optimist Club.

"The most important thing about the league is that it is purely recreational," said Billmeyer, a lawyer at Finch Bradshaw Strom & Steele. "Our main purpose is to make sure the kids all have fun. We like to stress that point.

It didn't really use to be that way for the SEMO Indoor Soccer League, which began four years ago.

Billmeyer related another story of when he was coaching. His team of first, second and third grade players won a game in a shoot out in a intense game that left some kids crying after being defeated.

"That really sticks in my mind," Billmeyer said. "I remember thinking, ~`That's not the way it should be.'"

Now it isn't.

Billmeyer got involved in the league when it the Noon Optimist Club decided to back it. "The Optimist Club is organized to do nothing but help youth so we thought this would be a good opportunity to do that.

"We experience some growing pains every year," said Billmeyer. "There's something that comes up every year that we have to make adjustments for. This year it was bad weather."

Growth has also affected the league.

"This year we had 235 players after having 150 last year. There was a growth problem that was not expected. We expected more kids, but not that many more."

The league holds its games in the perfect place, Houck Field House. "It's perfect for indoor soccer. It's really great that Southeast lets us use it. It's really the only place in town you could have indoor soccer.

"Southeast has been tremendous in working with us," said Billmeyer. "The school doesn't benefit at all from us using the facility except that it's a community outreach. They have no financial interest.

"We use the field house when the kids are away on Christmas break. From the time they leave until the time they get back, it's indoor soccer season. It's basically a one-month season.

"There's just one practice at the beginning of the season, then no practice and all games from there on out, which the parents and the coaches seem to enjoy," Billmeyer said with a chuckle.

The league is not affiliated with the Cape Area Youth Soccer League, but Billmeyer said the two certainly cross paths.

"We have a lot of volunteers who also help with the CAYSA League as well as the Jackson league," said Billmeyer.

One thing that helps assure competitiveness in the league is the way the teams are made up.

"We have coaches from both Cape and Jackson that rate the kids and then pick the teams so that the teams will be as close to even as possible."

With over 230 kids, starting at first grad and going all the way to high school seniors, there were a lot to choose from.

With all the kids getting equal playing time, no one gets left out.

"From watching the games and watching the players, I think it's helpful," Billmeyer said. "The kids seem to be just enjoying themselves. They're just having fun. If you lose the game, it's not the end of the world.

"That doesn't mean they're not competitive. They certainly are that. But they seem to be able to just leave it. At the end of the game they shake hands and they walk off the court. It's refreshing."

"They're certainly is a place for competitive sport," said Billmeyer, a former indoor soccer player himself, "but this is not one of them. It's a short season and it tends to fill a block of time that none of the other sports are filling. So far to this point we've been able to keep it purely fun."

PUTTIN' A MOVE ON: A SEMO Indoor soccer league player looks to take the ball off the boards during a season finale game last Thursday at Houck Field House. The indoor soccer season completed its play last week. (Photo by Fred Lynch)

READY TO DEFEND: The goalie is ready to defend the net as his defense works hard out front during a SEMO Indoor Soccer league game last Thursday at Southeast Missouri State's Houck Field House. The league completed play last week. (Photo by Fred Lynch.)

GETTING HER KICKS: A SEMO Indoor Soccer League player boots the ball down the playing court during a Thursday night game. The league played its games at Southeast Missouri State's Houck Field House and completed its season last week. (Photo by Fred Lynch).