When Steve Thornton was organizing the first sand soccer tournament in 2006 his main concern was fielding enough teams for pool play. The sport was new to the area and the tournament was tucked away on Torrance Beach because the City of Torrance had rejoined the Beach Cities as a co-host of the International Surf Festival.
Having adult competition alongside the kids – most of whom play for club or AYSO soccer teams – was the furthest thing on Thornton’s mind.
Local Realtor Dan Mullin remembers that first year.
“I kind of stumbled across the first sand soccer tournament and I thought it looked fun,” Mulling said. “Sand, soccer and the beach — what could be better? The following year my daughter was starting her first year in club soccer and one of their first tournaments was the sand soccer tourney. The next year some of my kids’ friends were playing and I went to watch them and just couldn’t get over how fun it looked and what a great community experience the tournament was turning into.”
The experience got Mullin’s competitive juices flowing. Instead of being a spectator, he wanted a piece of the action. Although he had not played competitive soccer, Mullin had been an assistant coach in AYSO for his children’s teams, so he called his brother Todd and other friends who had played soccer and formed a team.
“We were all about mid-forties so we called ourselves the Old Fogies,” Mullin said. “Some players like Nader Hamda, Steve Hildreth, and Jim Nadeua were really good. The rest of us just had fun. The first game we got slaughtered and we were shocked how tough the competition was.”
This year, the re-named Old Fogies Part Deaux was better prepared. Players trained in the sand and a three-hour scrimmage was held a week prior to the tournament.
“We also added some key players like Adam Pomfret, who coaches the Mira Costa girls soccer team, and he brought a friend Tim Bramely who is also British. Need I say more?” Mullin quipped. “With the addition of these two players we were feeling pretty good.”
Mullin said that all team members live in the Hollywood Riviera or South Redondo area close to Torrance Beach. Scott Faith, Kevin Eastley and John Slinsby complete the Old Fogies’ roster.
The first contest was a grudge match with the Watermelons – an offshoot from the Old Fogies that was formed by Scott Faith’s son Brennan. It included daughters Danielle Faith and Morgan Mullin.
Brennan, a senior at South High School, recruited a few members from Spartan soccer teams in addition to some older players. The combination of young and old worked. After defeating the Old Fogies by four goals, the Watermelons went on to capture the tournament title, tying a team from North High School with only two seconds left and emerging victorious on penalty kicks.
Sunday morning the Old Fogie franchise recorded its first victory.
“Everyone was stoked,” Mullin said. “The monkey was off our backs and everyone had so much fun that Old Fogies will be back next year.”
The 2011 version of the Old Fogies will more than likely have a new look.
“I’m very pleased with how the sand soccer tournament has grown,” said Thornton, who serves as tournament director. “This year we had 32 teams, including six in the adult division, traveling from as far away as Castaic, Upland and Montclair. Next year we would like to take a page from the Charlie Saikley 6-Man volleyball tournament and allow teams to compete in costumes.”
Another branch of the Old Fogies is the Beach Boys team, which competed in its second tournament this year. Mullin and Nadeau put together a team of eight boys who were all friends, most of whom are AYSO players in the U10 division.
“The great thing about the sand soccer tournament is that it’s not nearly as strict as club or AYSO tournaments regarding ages,” Mullin said. “You can have five 10-year-olds on your team along with some 12-year-olds. This helps create teams based on friends and siblings instead of strict age groups. It’s not surprising to have boys teams playing on girls teams, club teams playing AYSO teams, etc. In this sense, it is really all about having fun, but I will say the games are very competitive.”
This year’s Beach Boys team won three-of-four games and was comprised of Chase Mullin, Jonny Nadeau, Armin Bahramian, Brendon Casillas, Kohl Kutsch, Neal O’Reilly, Nick Albert and Jack Disney.
While Mullin is enjoying his new sport, he is no stranger to the International Surf Festival having participated in the Dwight Crum Pier-to-Pier swim, the Dick Fitzgerald 2-mile run and the Taplin competition when he was a junior guard.
His name is visible each year during the Surf Festival Lifeguard competition. Eight years ago he donated a dory to the Lifeguard Association, whose members compete in it each year.
“I was Junior Lifeguard as a kid so I grew up watching the Surf Festival Lifeguard competition,” Mulling said. “I love seeing the lifeguards use the dory and it is great to see the participants and the boat do well in competitions. Plus, it keeps my name and number in front of South Bay beachgoers whom I love to help with their real estate transactions.”
For more information on sand soccer, contact the Torrance Sand Soccer Association at www.torrance-sand-soccer.com. ER
