On the field under the summer sun, many games are lost and won, but for the North Kitsap Soccer Club measures of success reach much further than the outcome of the game.

Summer is when soccer is kicking, and players get a chance for not only improvement but also camaraderie in both the game and in friendship, heightening their skills for regular season — which begins this weekend in North Kitsap.

Summer tournaments are a perfect place for practice, North Kitsap Select Soccer players and coaches agree, as they provide multiple games against diverse teams using various lineups and strategies. The constant goal in sight is always reaching the finals, but the underlying benefit of the typical three-day tourneys is the on and off the field growth of players and teams.

Over the course of this tournament season — which begins during the spring before the annual league placement tournament and runs through the September start of the regular season — many of North Kitsap’s Select teams boosted into the finals of tournament brackets around the state.

“The whole thing (about tournament play) is if you make it to the final game, that’s a major accomplishment,” said Chris May, NK select coaches coordinator. “When you make it to the finals, it’s usually two good teams and it almost comes down to luck.”

Being reserved for the two best teams in the tournament, the final match-up of any tournament bracket is rarely a blow out of more than a two or three goals, May said. The pressure situation created in finals competition is a lesson in itself that taught NK’s athletes the agony of defeat this year.

At the BigFoot Tournament in Snohomish during the weekend of April 20, four out of 11 NK teams in attendance made it through to the finals, where each team fought to the final whistle and lost in subsequent heartbreakers.

After ending in ties respectively, North Kitsap’s BU12 Vikings, BU13 Explosion, BU16 Fusion and the GU16 Ambush were each edged out of a championship when it came down to penalty kicks.

However, the pendulum swung the other way for the BU12 Vikings earlier in the tournament season at a 3-on-3 tournament at the Starfire Complex in Tacoma. Winning their division on another shootout decision, the Vikings earned an invite to the national tournament, February 2007 in Austin, Texas.

“We don’t put an emphasis on wins and losses, but we do pretty well,” May said, noting that by teaching solid fundamentals and fostering a positive environment among all players, success will come. “I think it has to be fun and a challenge. I think you need both.”

Three of NK’s boys teams rose to the challenge, picking up championships from summertime tournaments. July 28-30, BU14 NK Havoc swept the competition at the Camas Revolution tournament to pick up a championship, while BU12 Explosion brought home two titles; one from the Baker Blast tournament in early August and most recently as they swept the Skagit Labor Day tournament.

With success breeding excitement, these and the bulk of North’s select teams should be heading into the 2006 fall season with confidence. It all begins today as teams hit the grass.

North Kitsap will host a plethora of those opening games as three NK U12 teams play at the NKHS fields today starting at 10 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. while three U11 teams will be at Wolfle Elementary starting at 9 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. NK’s U13s and U14s will play at Strawberry Field — 9 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. — and at Kingston Junior High, starting at 3:45 p.m.

Sunday, KJH will host NK’s U15s and U16s at 12 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., while the GU19 Fuego United will play at 2 p.m. on Strawberry Field.

GRAY BOX:

North Kitsap Select Soccer summertime achievements

BU11 NK Explosion 95:

Viking Cup runner up; Strawberry Classic runner up; 2nd place @ 3-on-3 National Tournament in Tacoma

BU12 NK Vikings 94:

1st Place @ 3-on-3 National Tournament-Tacoma; BigFoot runner up

BU13 NK Explosion 93:

Baker Blast Champs; BigFoot runner up; Skagit Labor Day champions

BU14 NK Havoc 92:

Camas CW Revolution Champs

GU14 NK Fuego United 92:

Viking Cup runner up

BU16 NK Fusion 90:

Viking Cup runner up; 3rd place Yakima Mid Summer Classic; BigFoot runner up

GU16 NK Ambush 90:

BigFoot runner up

GU18 NK Fuego United:

Viking Cup runner up; Baker Blast runner up; Salem Oregon Waterfront runner up.