Colleen Benoit thought the kids deserved a little recognition.

Anything beyond that is welcome.

The manager of the U8 Development soccer team recently nominated the group for the BMO Team of the Week contest at BMOsoccer.com.

"It's neat to see Whitehorse on the map with kids from Nova Scotia and P.E.I. and

New Brunswick and all that, and it's just neat to see our little picture on the website so everyone can view that,” Benoit said.

She added that the nomination process is simple and brief: register as manager or coach, submit a picture, write a blurb about why the team should be nominated – all of which takes about five minutes.

And that five minutes can go a long way.

For the next 15 weeks, Canadian soccer coaches and parents can nominate their favourite youth soccer team online. BMO Team of the Week winners will be announced every week starting April 20 and will receive $500, track suits and a donation to a local charity.

Each of the winning teams will become finalists for the grand prize, and all Canadians will be able to vote for their favourite team starting Aug. 1.

The BMO Team of the Week 2011 champion will receive a $125,000 field refurbishment, a trip to see a Toronto FC or Vancouver Whitecaps FC home game and $5,000 in their chosen charity.

Benoit said she entered the team mostly for the recognition.

In fact, she was unsure of what exactly the prizes were.

"It's an excellent opportunity for our kids to be recognized,” she said.

"If the kids get some equipment, then all the best. We do have good equipment, but we could use new nets up at the college. Little stuff like that. Anything would help, absolutely anything.”

Some pretty great things can happen when a parent or coach enters a team into an online contest, as evidenced here in Whitehorse in February.

New Brunswick hockey mom Michelle Nott entered her son's hockey team, the Petitcodiac-Salisbury Bantam A Flyers, into Scotiabank's Big Save contest and wound up the winner, which included an all-expenses paid trip to Whitehorse during Hockey Day in Canada.

You could sense similar passion in Benoit's voice.

She got involved in the Whitehorse Minor Soccer Association (WMSA) three years ago because, as is often the case, her kids wanted to play.

This, however, is her first year as manager with the U8 Development team, which is geared towards players who want to improve their skills.

"And I wish I would have done it earlier, I really do,” Benoit said.

The U8s get together one day more than the WMSA each week, and has also travelled to Haines Junction for tournaments. And it's worth it, Benoit said.

"It's not hugely expensive – I think it's very reasonable – but it's an extra cost, and

it's a dedication that parents have to work with their kids. I think the attitude is amazing.”

She credits coaches Victor Lavanderos, who coaches the Yukon Selects Soccer Club, and Jake Hanson, technical director for the Yukon Soccer Association, as helping to cultivate that attitude and improve the players' skills.

"The coaches are just fantastic. Some of them in Whitehorse Minor aren't professional coaches, they're like me, I volunteer and coach my daughter in Whitehorse Minor, but I'm not a coach; whereas our coaches, Jake Hanson and Victor, they're awesome. They work with these kids and get them going,” Benoit said.

"At the age of eight, these kids are fantastic, their foot work, their skills, their attitude – everything's just improved by these coaches. It's just a great sport to get into, all year.

"The improvement is unbelievable. Even in the first three weeks, you can see the coaches have helped improve their skills.”

She added that the kids are moldable at this age and just about any age within the parameters of Whitehorse Minor.

So is she, as a coach, she pointed out.

She watches the group whenever she can to take what the kids have learned to teach her league club.

This is the second season for the U8 Development team, which is the youngest of its kind with the WMSA, and also gets to compete against U10 and U12 players.

"These U8s are working, they're almost at their level. These kids can really move, and they're impressive to watch.

"When they see that they're improving, it improves their attitude and it makes them feel great and they want to show up every week and they want to do better.”