Rock Hill tournament hosts help families from afar

Thursday was day two of the five-day US Youth Soccer National Championships in Rock Hill.

60 teams from across the country are spending the rest of the week at Manchester Meadows — but there’s one team that has traveled the farthest — and was given one of the earliest playing times.

Thursday morning, Sandy King and dozens of parents watched along the sidelines as the Eastside Reds of Washington State took on the Galaxy Blue of Illinois.

King tells WRHI that the 7:30 a.m. match — which would be 4:30 a.m. Pacific time — didn’t faze the team one bit.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

King says she and the other parents are spending the week in Rock Hill — and are enjoying the southern hospitality in the afternoons.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

King’s Washington team is now 1-and-1 in the tournament.

Locals Like Cissy Tice of Rock Hill have volunteered their time to help out with the tournament, serving as the ultimate Soccer Mom for families who’ve traveled here from across the country.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Tice is the mother of three grown sons who played soccer growing up. She says one of the common compliments is the Manchester Meadows facility, a place that years ago, was the site of a solid waste dump. Tice says times have since changed.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

And as the Soccer Mom of Soccer Moms, Tice was on the field early Thursday morning, watching the Eastside Reds of Washington State.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

This week’s tournament is open to the public. Parking is available at Fist Baptist Church on Dave Lyle Blvd. or outside the former Cactus Creek restaurant in Manchester Village.