Bristol Rhythm looks to make Bristol a premier soccer venue
· Yahoo Sports
BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — The blood, sweat, and tears shed by the Bristol Rhythm this season reach the pinnacle this Saturday in a championship match against El Farolito.
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For fullback James Bakou and head coach Dave Neijenhuis, the hard work will pay off with a championship win.
Bakou has played in every Rhythm game since the club was established and has become the cornerstone player for the Rhythm. He told News Channel 11 that the fan turnout this season is a testament to how far the club has come.
“The previous two years has been a bit disappointing,” Bakou said. “Obviously not sort of, performing or getting the results that we wanted. That’s why it feels like it’s a bit of justice to this year to now be where we are, sort of give back to the fans what they’ve given to us.”
Although raising the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) trophy is a goal for Neijenhuis, he told News Channel 11 that the next generation of soccer fans is why he coaches.
“It feels really good for me that after the games, that there’s so many kids running around the field and hugging players, but also kicking footballs after the game,” Neijenhuis said. “I sometimes even enjoy that more than the game itself.”
Neijenhuis added that for the Rhythm it’s about making Bristol a premier venue for soccer.
“We want Bristol to be more than just a motor highway,” Neijenhuis said. “We want this also to be a football town. And I think we starting to understand that we can bring a lot of excitement into the town.”
For Bakou, the fan support and the city of Bristol mean the world to him, but the brotherhood built in the locker room tops it all.
“On and off the pitch, training seems like a breeze,” Bakou told News Channel 11. “Everyone gets along so well. After games we all go out together, you know, we have fun. We do team activities. It’s great, honestly. And I think meeting boys from all over the world, like you think it might be difficult. But with this team, it seems so easy.”
The NPSL national championship will kick off this Saturday at 7 p.m. at Gene Malcolm Stadium in Bristol, Va.
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