One Army Contracting Command employee is still getting her kicks from watching her son maneuver on the soccer field.
Up until now, Angela Sims, a management analyst in the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff Chief Information Officer G-6, at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, has been the typical soccer mom watching her son, Leonard Sims, kick soccer balls around since he was 3 years old.
"He started playing on a soccer team in Frankfurt, Germany, when he was 6 years old and I've been driving him around ever since. From the time he was 8 years old through his senior year at Columbus (Georgia) High, he always played during the spring, summer and fall," said Angela Sims.
All that kicking has paid off for Leonard and he's headed to the North American Sports Group's Kick It 3V3 soccer championship tournament in Orlando, Florida, in January as a member of the Georgia Southern University club team. The team recently won a three-versus-three regional tournament, where he was voted most valuable player and received a bid to play for a national championship at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida.
"This was actually my first tournament playing with the team in this sort of competition. This team is actually defending national champions," he said. "Comparing three-versus-three soccer to full on 11-versus-11 is difficult. There is nothing that can mimic a normal match, but our team's tactics are centered around high pressure and quick counter attacks."
According to Leonard, most of his teammates are Georgia Southern University alumni and have played together on the GSU club team, some of which he's played with for about 5 years.
"In the three-versus-three league, our team plays as an upside down triangle with two people pressing high up the pitch and one person keeping shape should someone get beat," said the junior Sims. "As you can imagine, there is a lot of shifting positions, but I tend to play as the point of the triangle most often in a holding or defensive midfield role. I like to think I play the position with an attacking mentality though."
It's been a year since Angela Sims saw her son play but she said she's not going to miss her son play in this tournament.
"My husband, mom and the rest of the family are all planning on attending the tournament," said Angela Sims. "My husband, Leonard, Sr., and I always told him that as long as he put God first and education second, he could accomplish anything. I am a very proud mama."
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