Cal South Clubs Highlight Teams Headed to Texas
Known for great youth soccer player development, the Cal South area of US Youth Soccer has always been strong.
The stage for the 2017 US Youth Soccer National Championships is taking form as Cal South is set to represent the region in big numbers this summer. The US Youth Soccer National Championships cap a yearlong series of competitions that comprise the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series.
Youth Soccer News: Five additional Cal South teams have clinched their ticket to the 2017 US Youth Soccer National Championships after a successful run through the 2016-17 National League season. The National Championship Series will be held from July 24-30 at the Toyota Soccer Complex in Frisco, Texas.
Cal South will have a representative in each age group from U15 to U19/20, with Legends FC having four teams represent Southern California in the U15 to U18 age groups, and Beach FC 98 Academy representing the U19/20 Division on the girls side.
“You’re at the stage now where every team is a great team. You have to be at your very best at this level,” Legends FC 00 coach Richard Boon told US Youth Soccer. “The National League offers the best competition from around the country.
“I’m excited for the club and for the coaching staff. More importantly, it was the players who played the game. They dedicated their time, the effort for the ultimate goal to get to Texas, and they’re there.”
On the boys side, Boca Juniors OC and West Coast FC Armour each clinched their ticket to the National Championship Series through the National League Boys Season. In total, Cal South will have seven teams represent Southern California in the National Championships via the National League.
“This experience has been tremendous for these players, both in their growth as soccer players and as young men,” said Boca Juniors OC head coach Jimmy Obleda. “We knew that qualifying for the national championship was going to be very difficult — especially coming into the final national League weekend needing to win all three games.”
Obleda explained that his squad embraced the challenge and approached it with a level of maturity and professionalism that he had not seen from them before.
“They knew that they had no choice but to deal with what was at hand, one day, one game, one play at a time and within that; leave everything on the field, good things would happen. And it did!”
He cites this experience as providing his players with the understanding of how to approach tough situations of this manner.
“They all approached it like that and they were lucky enough to get it done,” said Obleda.
As preparation for the US Youth Soccer National Championships, Obleda is focused on the necessary improvement of his squad in order to guarantee a successful performance during the event.
“There are areas that we need to improve upon, both individually and collectively if we want to do well in Frisco,” says Obleda. “Those areas will be addressed in training and competitive games in the coming months. We hope that the training cycle we have set up will have us peaking at the right time for the National Championship in July.”
