North Vermilion, VC take part in soccer’s 7-on-7

NEW IBERIA - Summer is usually time for baseball and football workouts, but another sport gets some summer time as well.
New Iberia Senior High head boys soccer coach Casey Friend puts on a 7-on-7 soccer session that lasts through June and July. This year, both Vermilion Catholic and North Vermilion girl’s soccer teams took part in the two-month sessions that met every Wednesday.
Vermilion Catholic coach Kelli Knickerbocker divided her team into two groups so more of her players could get some summer work in.
“I just wanted them to get some work in and improve their skills,” Knickerbocker said. “Summer is a relaxed time, and I wanted the girls to have some fun out there as well.”
VC and North Vermilion were joined by Catholic High and New Iberia Senior High for the four-team summer session. Catholic High also divided their team into two groups so that six games could be played at the same time on the NISH football field, which had the teams playing from sideline to sideline instead of endzone to endzone.
North Vermilion coach Meraiah Young also wanted to see her team go through some summer paces as the Lady Patriots get ready for the soccer season in November.
“It’s always good to find opportunities to get more touches on the ball as a team,” Young said. “We have been using the extra games to get our center six talking and moving the ball around better.”
Last season, Vermilion Catholic finished as the 24th seed in Division IV and lost in the first round to Episcopal School of Acadiana. In contrast, North Vermilion was the 12th seed in Division III and advanced to the second round before falling to E.D. White.
NV’s two teams went 3-1-1 while VC went 1-1.