SilverLakes College Showcase Inaugural Tournament A Success
Thanksgiving weekend is a huge time for competitive youth soccer as teams look to conclude the year in top form. With college showcases dominating the weekend, the SilverLakes College Soccer Showcase was an outstanding example of a first class and highly professional showcase – this first annual girl’s event welcomed over 2,500 players and more than 275 college coaches to Norco, CA.
Youth Soccer News: The inaugural SilverLakes College Soccer Showcase held over Thanksgiving weekend brought many of the top female youth soccer players and college scouts to Norco, CA for a partly sunny and somewhat rainy few days of highly competitive youth soccer.
Regardless of the weather, the games went off on schedule and college coaches from around the country were able to see elite talent compete in a variety of challenges.
“We are incredibly excited to host this first-of-its-kind showcase event for young women at SilverLakes,” said R.J. Brandes, President, SilverLakes. “The participation by high-level coaches throughout the country, including among others, Stanford, Texas A&M, Cornell, North Western, UCLA, Cal Berkeley and the thousands of young women was incredible to see.
More than 2,500 youth female soccer players descended on Southern California town of Norco to compete at the newly minted 130-acre soccer facility.
“This is a great venue. The facility is in good condition and the location is amazing,” said Tayler Renshaw, Occidental College assistant coach.
“Here you have longer games. The facility is fantastic and what they do for college coaches has been great,” said Jay Mason, Cal Poly Pomona head coach.
The tournament welcomed recruits from the top women’s soccer programs in the nation in the newest competitive youth soccer showcase held in Southern California.
More than 275 college coaches were on the sidelines watching games and evaluating players and for a girls only tournament, that was an amazingly high number.
“It was our objective to set the SilverLakes signature tournament standards for our first college showcase,” said Josh Hodges, SilverLakes Sports Director. “SilverLakes focus is on the overall quality and experience for the players, families and coaches. We announced this event only 45 days before kick off and I am proud of what we were able to accomplish in such a short time.”
The SilverLakes College Showcase Inaugural Tournament was well received by college coaches.
“It’s a good central location that’s easily accessible. You don’t have to drive between fields or complexes,” said Mason of Cal Poly Pomona. “For college coaches who have a limited time to watch players, to have everything in one area allows us more opportunities to see more players.”
“It’s a breath of fresh air to have such a first-class tournament in Southern California,” said Edgar Anzaldo, Gonzaga University assistant coach. “This tournament has been very mindful in regard to which clubs they have attracted.”
The ability of the showcase to provide attending players and college coaches with first-class service remained a top priority of the tournament staff.
SilverLakes hosted an All-Star Game on Saturday afternoon between the MLS Vancouver Whitecaps and the USA All-Stars that provided an opportunity for players to sit back and enjoy a game after a long day of matches.
“This is an event. There aren’t very many tournaments that you have the soccer game going on and the great treatment of the college coaches like here,” said Chassion Griggs, San Diego State University assistant coach. “The presentation of the tournament is awesome.”
“It’s second to none how they have welcomed us here,” said Matt Kagan, Loyola Marymount University assistant coach
Several coaches went back and forth between showcases or had assistants at one event while they attended another.
“It’s another great opportunity,” said Chad Bodnar, head coach of the Eastern Washington University. “We get to take a day for other tournaments in the area and then come to this event to see different teams.”
“To have multiple events is great,” said Guerrieri, Texas A&M head coach. “I’m at this event and I have an assistant at another tournament. We’re able to come in and get a lot taken care of in one weekend.”
“Multiple tournaments held over Thanksgiving weekend makes them all better,” said Joshua Walters, UCLA assistant coach. “It makes the event want to draw good teams and have more college coaches attend. We cover all the tournaments over the weekend
“Obviously we had the option to go to many different showcases,” said Emma Humphries, Vancouver Whitecaps Girls Academy Director and head coach. “The staff here have been the most accommodating of those we looked into.”
Perhaps starting a new trend, the SilverLakes showcase was not a Stay-to-Play tournament. The ability for traveling teams to choose where they wanted to stay and not be restricted to specified accommodations also made it easy for teams to plan around their busy Thanksgiving schedule.
Being able to select accommodations can be very important for traveling teams on a tight budget who prefer to opt for less expensive hotel chains or drive a bit further to the fields
“The accommodation was great. It’s more streamlined and not a stay-and-play event,” said Michelle Coleman of San Juan Soccer Club. “We can stay anywhere, so the parents can make the reservations where they want. That makes it a lot easier.”
For others, the ability to travel to a new city and compete at the top level was extremely intriguing.
“The newness of the tournament is exciting,” said Tommy McNaughton, head coach of SC Del Sol ECNL U16. “The players were excited to come to an unknown region to compete.”
Although the typical sunshine weather in the Inland Empire was met with showers, this did not stop the tournament from completing as matches continued all weekend.
The tournament welcomed Fletcher Jones as a sponsor over the weekend with numerous Mercedes vehicles on display.
“We were thrilled to have Fletcher Jones, one of the largest Mercedes dealerships in the world as our Showcase presenting sponsor,” said Hodges.
As SilverLakes continues to build a full offering of programs and events, its mission to empower young athletes remains on schedule as it hopes to add an event for men’s soccer in the near future.
The competition for more than $2.7 billion in athletics scholarships granted annually by the NCAA Divisions I and II schools is extremely competitive and often comes down to demonstrating an athlete’s skill to a select few, and hard to access, coaches and recruiters. SilverLakes hopes to tear down the barriers for student athletes by convening showcase events, such as the November 25-27, 2016 opportunity.
“It is often difficult for youth players looking to take their game to the next level to gain access to key coaches who will enable them to fully realize their abilities and play at the collegiate level,” said Brandes. “Our first annual College Soccer Showcase has already succeeded in providing this access and it is our hope that this experience will be a ‘game changer’ for these young people.”
