Local soccer players attend Olympic camp in California
courtesy photo
Mack Moderie, Ben Larson (FC Missoula player who traveled with the Polson players), Russell Smith, Ben River, and Emilio Hernandez attended a youth soccer camp in California last month, part of the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program.
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Soccer players Russell Smith, Emilio Hernandez, Ben River, and Mack Moderie took their soccer skills to the next level as they traveled to Sacramento, Calif., June 6 to train as part of the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program.
The program was formed in 1977 to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a national team will be selected for international competition. In 1979, the program expanded and state associations were encouraged to develop organizations that supported and worked in tandem with national and regional programs.
Each state association holds ODP try-outs on an annual basis. Polson was well represented at the Montana ODP try-outs last fall with 11 players making the cut, including those traveling to California and Maddie Lichte, Maria Heutmaker, Ashlee Howell, Marina Mayorga, Mike Mercer, Connor Young, and Nico River.
Players are evaluated on technique, tactics, fitness and athletic ability, and attitude. They have trained every three to four weeks with their ODP teams in different locations around the state. The training sessions involve six to eight hours of training over two days. ODP tournaments have taken some of them to Washington and Idaho this spring. Smith, Hernandez, River, and Moderie decided to take the next step and accept the invitation to train at the sub-regional camp in California. Maddie Lichte was also invited, but unable to attend due to an injury.
Once in Sacramento, players were placed on scramble teams, comprising players from California, Oregon, Colorado, Nevada, and Montana. The teams then trained together and played against other scramble teams over the weekend. Division I college coaches, who are also ODP Regional Staff, trained the players and selected individuals for the next level, which is the regional camp in Oregon. Moderie was selected and heads to McMinnville, Ore. next week for six days of training.
At five years old, all of these players started playing soccer and haven’t stopped since. Smith, Hernandez, River, and Moderie started playing on fall recreational teams with the Polson Youth Soccer Association (PYSA), and then as soon as they were old enough, played for Polson FC every spring. Hernandez and Moderie have also been guest players for FC Missoula.
Polson FC is part of Montana Youth Soccer Association, which organizes a statewide soccer league for players age 9 through 19. Polson FC’s numbers have steadily grown and is becoming more competitive each season, especially considering that Polson usually plays against much larger towns such as Missoula, Kalispell, Bozeman, Great Falls, and Butte. In 2012, Polson FC’s U12 Boys and U16 Boys teams took first at state and this year, the U14 Girls were state champions.
