by Jill Funke

Many kids start playing soccer while in grade school, participating in teams in their respective towns. These little tots learn about the primary rules of the sport, such as not intentionally touching the ball with their hands or arms during play. As they get older, kids improve their ability dribble, pass the ball to teammates and attempt to get the ball past the goalkeeper to score points.

When they began the seventh grade, Koleby Harshfield and Derek Boer had grown to like soccer very much. Unfortunately, many other kids they played soccer with left the game in order to play other sports like football. This left limited opportunities for local soccer teams once students began junior high, and the boys became aware of the chance to be involved with soccer in Harrisburg. Koleby and Derek registered for a recreational team in that town, and played with Harrisburg area kids for two years. Making some great friends and thoroughly enjoying themselves, both young men didn’t want to give up soccer. When they found out that their coach, Steve Tebben, was organizing a soccer team for high school students in the Harrisburg school district, they were excited as they were invited to join. Playing with the Harrisburg students wasn’t as easy as simply signing up. Since Koleby and Derek are from a different school district in another state, they had to gain the approval of the state of Iowa and the state of South Dakota, and ended up in court over their eligibility. The issue for the court to decide was if the Harrisburg team was scouting players by allowing the Iowa students to play for their team. Koleby and Derek had to convince the court that they only wanted to play for Harrisburg because, although there has been interest in establishing a soccer team at West Lyon, there weren’t enough other close schools in Iowa to play against at this time, leaving them limited options to play high school soccer. When the case was over, the court ruled that Koleby and Derek would be allowed to play. However, the court also mandated that they would be the last kids from Iowa allowed to play soccer for schools in South Dakota.

While both young men enjoyed going to soccer practice, they found it necessary to manage their time well if they wanted to participate in other sports and activities at West Lyon. Each year, the soccer season would begin with practice at the end of August, and last until the state tournament in October. The other teams in their soccer division included Hot Springs, James Valley Christian, Brookings and Groton. With a schedule that included games as far away at Hot Springs and Groton, the boys and their families were on the road for long periods of time to participate in a few of their games. At the end of the pre season when the team had finished eight games, they had six wins, one tie and one loss. This record left them eligible to play in the state tournament. At the event which was held in Brookings this year, Koleby and Derek, along with their teammates beat each team they faced until they were paired with James Valley Christian for the championship game. It was a very close game which Harrisburg won with a goal in the last ten seconds of the game.

While they will miss the friends they have made playing soccer in Harrisburg over the last six years, Koleby and Derek were very happy to end their high school soccer careers as state champions. They have come to deeply respect Steve Tebben for being such a great role model, as well as the dedication he demonstrated to the team. Instead of earning a paycheck for his efforts with the Harrisburg team in its first year, Coach Tebben opted to use that money to purchase uniforms for his players. This was a decision that really impressed Koleby and Derek, and is one part of their soccer experience that they will never forget. Next year, Koleby plans to attend Colorado Technical Institute to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice, while Derek is considering his options for earning an associates degree.