The Needham Soccer Club ran its 48th Needham Memorial Day Tournament (NMDT). This year, 74 teams out of 502 teams were crowned NMDT Champions, including 3 Needham Soccer Club teams. They are the boys BU19 Needham Thunder, playing in the top bracket of the college showcase, BU17 Needham Crew, and the GU13 Needham Stars. Four other Needham teams were finalists; two of those teams lost in PKs. They are the Needham Rebels, Diamonds, Reign, and Phoenix. Teams come from all 6 New England States, New York, New Jersey, and Canada attended this year’s event. Girls and Boys teams range in age from 11 – 19 years old and play in town travel leagues or premier club leagues. The NMDT is not only one of the oldest soccer tournaments in the country, but consistently one of the largest.
“This year, like most there are challenges during the weekend that most attendees do not notice. Thursday, a nor'easter dumped 3-plus inches of rain as the setup for the weekend began. Fortunately, all 800-plus games played over the weekend”, said Mark Miskin, the Tournament Director.
In order to run the event, the NMDT utilizes 14 Needham fields and an additional 45 other fields from surrounding towns, private schools, and colleges. Over 400 referees from 30 states and 6 countries, including England, Italy, Spain, and Germany. The NMDT referee mentoring program, which is used to help referees move up to the national stage, was the first in the area. Also, 80 athletic trainers from Mass General Hospital Sports Medicine services oversee injuries during the tournament. Additionally, over 80 paid Marshals are used to help set up fields, monitor games, input real-time scoring and help with parking. A majority of these marshals are Needham High School students, Needham students attending college, and some who are out of college.
Miskin added that “the marshals are great to work with, including his weekend senior staff who he feels are the best around, they learn a lot of management skills and some life skills”.
Over the past 48 years, the Needham Soccer Club has used the proceeds of the tournament to help give back to the community by donating to Needham field maintenance, soccer goals, Needham High School donations to the boys and girls soccer programs, and scholarships for graduating seniors.
