San Diego Surf ECNL Teams Perform Great From the Start & Surf Girls Receive National Team Call-Ups
San Diego Surf ECNL players continue to represent their club at the highest level, following recent call-ups by numerous individuals for past and future national team camps and tournaments. Along with the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup kicking off this week, multiple players are showcasing the talent San Diego has to offer with the help of the training techniques provided at Surf.
Youth Soccer News: Southern California is known as a hotbed for soccer and San Diego’s Surf Soccer Club is known across the country for their achievements in player development and efforts to improve the landscape of youth soccer in the USA. San Diego Surf SC has developed a reputation for being one of the top clubs in the country with countless players taking the next step in their career from youth to college ball.
Under the watchful eye of Surf SC’s new leadership — with Josh Henderson at the helm as the club’s Director of Coaching — Surf SC’s focus is on player development, and making sure winning is a byproduct of ‘doing it right.’ And, winning is just what the teams are doing as the 2016/17 ECNL Season kicks off.
The ECNL program at San Diego Surf has a proven record of developing top talent — and numerous individuals have recently received call-ups for national team duty. In fact, two youth soccer players from Surf SC were selected to travel to Jordan for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
Why is Surf SC so successful? Years into the making, this youth soccer club has a prestigious record for success on the pitch and player development. World Cup soccer star Rachel Buehler Van Hollebeke, is a homegrown success story who trained at Surf SC for years and is always is happy to acknowledge how the club helped her become a great player. “I loved my days playing at Surf SC and always thank my Surf coaches, especially Colin Chesters for their dedication to making me the player I am,” said Van Hollebeke in an earlier interview. Van Hollebeke won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and played on the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup team, scoring in the USA’s opening match.
Always at the center of activity, Surf SC was recently visited by English FA Technical Director Brent Hills who enjoyed the pristine Polo Club soccer facilities and discussed successful player development strategies with Surf ECNL Director Mark Spooner.
“As a youth soccer club, we have been very aware of the work that has been needed to accomplish results and a lot of work has gone in behind the scenes to help create the right environment for our players,” says Spooner, head coach of two ECNL teams.
When you are doing the little things right on a daily basis, it gets noticed. While it is a team game, it is made up of a team of individuals, and our players are getting noticed.”
Surf 2000 ECNL players Kali Trevithick and Mia Fishel return home after being called to the U16 Girls’ National Team camp held in the Netherlands.
During the 11-day trip, the team played the Netherlands U17 Women’s National Team, along with matches against CTO Amsterdam on September 23rd and CTO Eindhoven on September 26th. All games were played at the KNVB National Training Center located in Zeist, NL.
Fishel also helped lead the U15 U.S. Girls’ National Team to the CONCACAF Championship in Florida last month, going undefeated in seven matches and scoring 49 goals and conceding zero goals against. The girls finished their dominant run with a 2-0 victory over Canada in the final.
Maddie Mercado of the Surf 2001 ECNL team was recently named to the 26-player roster for the final training camp of this cycle before the team moves to the U17 age group in 2017. The squad will come together from October 1st to 8th at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California.
Other promising talent includes Arlie Jones who attended the U18 Women’s National Team camp held in Chula Vista, California, at the beginning of the month, while Julie Doyle represented U20 Women’s National Team at the 2016 U20 Women’s NTC Invitational earlier this month.
The two individuals that are representing San Diego Surf at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup include Bianca Caetano Ferrera of Brazil and Veronica Avalos of Mexico. Kickoff is set for this Friday with Avalos and Mexico taking on New Zealand, while Caetano-Ferrera takes on Nigeria in Brazil’s opening match.
“I’m super excited to go to Jordan,” said Caetano-Ferrara, who turned 16 in April. “It’s the World Cup, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I want to be the best prepared I can.”
The San Diego Surf ECNL program has proved to include the necessary steps in development to guide youth players onto the biggest stages in soccer. The club has competed in multiple National Championships over the years, holding an impressive winning record.
“Overall the ECNL opening schedule has been really tough for us,” says Spooner.
“Our Surf SC teams have played three perennial National Championship teams while on the road and we have successfully picked up points. Our overall record is 8-3-4 so far to date.”
Along with coach Spooner, Louis Hunt and Paul Dolinsky are coaching Surf SC teams in the ECNL this season.
