Father and son in USA Cup play
Dennis Helmer was the coach and his son, Michael, was one of the players in the Schwans USA Cup competition held July 14-20 at Blain, Minn. They returned to Kansas with the big cup for first place.
They are the son and grandson of Ezra and Pearl Helmer of Marion and are from Wichita.
It was the 18th annual tourney, said to be the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
This is the first time a Wichita team has ever taken first place in the competition. In 1996 a Wichita team took second.
Named Elite Blue U-16, the team proudly brought the big cup to Kansas. There were 63 teams in the U-16 division and 14,000 players in the tournament.
The Elite Blue team defeated such places as Edina, Minn.; Oakville, Ontario, Canada; Chicago, Ill.; Olney, Md.; Northport, N.Y.; and others. The final game, for the championship, was a thrilling overtime victory.
