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A local girl wins the Tampa Bay Mutiny finals and will have a Major League appearance this weekend.
By NEGAR TEKEEI
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 17, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- At 4 feet 8 inches and 63 pounds, Niki Carter is a streak of blue and white on a field of pony-tailed girls.
But that small streak is proving to be one of the nation's leaders in individual soccer skills competition.
After winning the New York Life Dribble, Pass and Shoot competitions at the club and regional levels, 9-year-old Niki advanced to the contest's Tampa Bay Mutiny finals, where she not only won but became one of the top four scorers among the 12,000 girls in her age group who competed nationally.
The Tampa Bay Mutiny finals also produced a second national finalist in Marcus Svenson of Plant City, who advanced in the 8- to 9-year-old boys competition.
Niki will travel to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend to compete against three other girls in her age group during halftime at Major League Soccer's championship game. She will also participate in the halftime show, which will be taped and shown at a later date on the Nickelodeon Games and Sports cable channel.
Admitting that she is a little nervous about competing in front of a stadium full of people, Niki says she will try her best to win.
After practicing with her competitive club soccer team -- the Pinellas FC -- at the Azalea soccer fields in western St. Petersburg, a slightly out-of-breath Niki smiled Thursday when she said that one day she would like to play for a professional women's soccer team.
Her motivation to play, said her mother, Connie, is entirely self-driven.
"She started playing when she was 4," she said. "Right from the very beginning, she just loved it and that's what she wanted to do."
Niki, who plays right forward for her current team, said she has always liked to get the ball and shoot it into the goal. She has stayed with soccer, she says, because she "couldn't find anything else that was exciting."
Ronnie Faw, Niki's coach, said competitions such as the New York Life Dribble, Pass and Shoot are good for self-esteem and encouraging children to play soccer. He says Niki has maintained a good attitude about the contest and her skills, and is first and foremost a team player.
The Mutiny youth competition allows Major League Soccer teams to reach out to kids, said Noreen Brantner, director of marketing for the Tampa Bay Mutiny and coordinator of the youth contest.
"Team sports are just a very big part of today" with children, she said.
Niki is excited about the competition and going to Columbus. And, no matter how nervous she might be, "I want to win the first-place prize."