Three girls have been successful - New Albany's Kaitlin Robinett (1991), Charlestown's Lauren Haley (1993), and Leah Mattingly of Floyds Knobs (1995) - while a fourth, Rebekah Burgan of Jeffersonville, is an alternate on the 1994 team.
On the boys' side, Trevor Bruner of Jeffersonville is on the 1992 team, while Henryville's Gabriel Stewart has been selected for the 1993 squad.
The Olympic Development Program (ODP) identifies and develops youth players to represent their state, region, and country in soccer competitions.
The road began for the players last November when they attended ODP tryouts with hundreds of other talented players. After making the first cut, they were selected to participate in more practices before last week’s final selections.
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Charlestown’s Lauren Haley in action for the Kentucky ‘93 ODP team in Alabama at the weekend.
One of the girls, Lauren Haley - who plays with Net-Surfers and attends Charlestown Middle School - had only days to bask in the good news of making the ‘93 team before being plunged immediately into action.
Haley traveled to Decatur, Alabama at the weekend to play in a United States regional tournament against Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. The Kentucky ‘93 boys’ team, which includes Henryville’s Gabriel Stewart, also participated.
And with college games also taking place, a number of top coaches were on hand to watch the ODP teams.
"Playing on the same field before or after the college players was incredible," said Haley. "The college coaches and the players were telling us how great we played.”
Father Bill Haley, who is a coach at SIU, said the best part for his "little comet" Lauren was playing soccer with other girls that love the game as much as she does.
“She said all the girls there are 100 per cent sold out to be the best player they could be and it was nice to be around that kind of determination," he said.
Next for Haley and the ODP ‘93 girls is a four day regional camp in DeKalb, Illinois in July.
Meanwhile, the ODP event that was to be held in Louisville at the weekend for the '94, '95, and '96 boys and girls rosters was cancelled due to the weather.
Charlestown’s Lauren Haley in action for the Kentucky ‘93 ODP team in Alabama at the weekend.
1 comment:
I still remember vividly when my team played against Lauren Haley and her L.S.A. team for the first time.(Under 11 days) I noticed her play and pointed it out to my team then. It's funny how things work out in this life. I have been blessed to have Lauren on my team the past couple of years. I am still "noticing" her play and admiring her. She is a great player and even a greater young lady
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