{"id":322875,"date":"2020-05-14T06:04:36","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T20:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=322875"},"modified":"2020-05-14T06:04:36","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T20:04:36","slug":"soccer-community-remembers-lo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/soccer-community-remembers-lo\/","title":{"rendered":"Soccer community remembers Lo"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Perry Lo, right, seen here staying close on defense against a younger player during a local tournament at the Oleai Sports Complex Field in 2014, passed away last May 7. He was 77. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Members of the CNMI soccer community paid tribute to Perry Lo, who passed away last May 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerry left a legacy in the soccer community. He was not only a skilled soccer player but had the characteristics of a great teacher,\u201d said former MP United Football Club goalie and umpire Rachel Sablan.<\/p>\n

She remembers how Lo, who was very active in the sport at a time when it was just starting to gain ground, lending his time and expertise to players and competitions, would make pointers on matches.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile he watched on the sidelines and back when I used to umpire games, he would give me pointers on how to improve my calls. He didn\u2019t\u2019 criticize me and instead he made me understand what I did wrong and how I can correct it. He always made a presence on and off the pitch. He will be greatly missed,\u201d Sablan said.<\/p>\n

Brad Ruszala, a member of the first CNMI Men\u2019s National Team, recalled how Lo assisted them in their preparation for the historic Marianas Cup in 2007.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis passion for the sport was rivaled only by his love for our local players who prepared for the CNMI\u2019s first Marianas Cup against Guam. Most of us were older than typical rookies. Training three hours per day, five to six days per week took a toll on us, and Perry was always there to provide treatment to a banged up back, knee, or an ankle with Chinese cupping therapy, and it worked,\u201d Ruszala said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost players on our teams looked like dalmatians with the evidence of the cupping all over us,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

After the hard training sessions, Lo would also provide the comic relief to players and mixed them up with his stories on life and soccer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave words of encouragement, attended our games, watched our practices, and would\u2019ve done absolutely anything for his guys. We\u2019re going to miss him. Our younger players never got to know him and his dedication to CNMI soccer. Be that as it may, I\u2019m sure Perry will still be watching over our program from his skybox over the Koblerville pitch,\u201d Ruszala added.<\/p>\n

Other early members of the CNMI Men\u2019s National Team and the islands\u2019 residents also recognized Lo\u2019s contribution to the Commonwealth\u2019s soccer program, as they posted their message of sympathy to the family of the late coach in social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a privilege to attend his soccer referee clinic,\u201d said Manny Sitchon, a basketball referee, but also tried learning officiating matches at the pitches.<\/p>\n

Former CNMI resident Gregory Baka recalled that Lo started youth soccer in 1999 or 2000 at the American Memorial Park with three age groups and four coaches, while Edith Deleon Guerrero thanked him for coaching her children.<\/p>\n

The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association also extended its condolences to Lo\u2019s family and recognized his help in the development of the sport in the CNMI.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerry will always be remembered for his contributions to NMI soccer, especially during the program\u2019s formative years. He was one of the first few referees who officiated games on island, making it possible for the NMI to have organized tournaments. His great passion for soccer was evident in the 60-plus years he spent with the sport as a player, coach, and referee,\u201d NMIFA said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of the CNMI soccer community paid tribute to Perry Lo, who passed away last…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":322904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-322875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}