TAKING NOTES:

Last week, a number of us were sitting in a conference room at the Newport Orthopedic Institute making plans for this year’s Daily Pilot Cup soccer tournament, taking place May 27 through June 1, when the institute’s marketing coordinator Jennifer Weigand showed us a gem.

It was a stack of letters written by Wilson Elementary students, thanking Newport Orthopedics for paying for their cleats and shin guards in last year’s tournament.

Here are some excerpts:

“I am very happy that I have the shin guards because they kicked me right on my ankle. So I am very happy that I am safe. Sincerely, Samantha.”

Here’s another.

“Did you know that we made it to the championship game but we lost and got second place. To conclude do you have soccer sockes [sic]. Sincerely, Hector”

And one more:

“I’m having a lot of fun in soccer. I played against these schools: Prince of Peace and Lincoln. My cleats and shin guards never came off or are loose. Thank you for supporting me. Sincerely, Candy Delfino.”

Candy also drew a picture of a girl decked out in a soccer outfit ready to kick a soccer ball.

These young kids are the reason we do this. It’s the reason Kirk McIntosh, the tournament director, works so hard to make the Daily Pilot Cup happen. It’s the reason our sponsors and partners like Newport Orhopedics, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, CM 900, Newport-Mesa Soccer Club, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and the city of Costa Mesa donate so much time and money to the tournament.

And it’s the reason why we are going to have the tournament again this year, for the ninth time.

Conceived by McIntosh and former Pilot editor Bill Lobdell and former Managing Editor Steve Marble, the Pilot Cup continues to balloon in popularity each year. From about 500 kids and two days in the first year, it now runs from Tuesday through Sunday with more than 2,000 kids participating.

Despite its popularity, we still need to do a lot of planning to make sure every school district in Newport-Mesa participates.

We need school liaisons from every school in the district, especially in some of the Westside Costa Mesa schools that have had limited participation in the past. For those interested in being a school liaison, please contact McIntosh at (949) 650-2527.

For the first time, we have created a web page on our site dedicated solely to the Pilot Cup at www.dailypilot.com/pilot_cup. The page has stories and photos from last year’s tournament and we will update the page regularly when the tournament starts in May.

There is also a link to the entry form, or visit www.dailypilot.com/content/display_ads/pilotcup2008.pdf.

So get started early. The more teams and the more volunteers the better. It’s our goal to have every school take part.

We’ll see you at the Farm Complex in May.

TONY DODERO is the director of news and online. He can be reached at 714-966-4608 or via e-mail at [email protected].