Here's the full version of the Louisville/Southern Indiana select soccer piece published in Vype Magazine's March '09 edition, for anyone's who's interested...
Thousands of high school students across Louisville and southern Indiana are preparing for what promises to be a very exciting spring select soccer season.
Teams have been training hard through the winter, and now it’s time to show the world what they’ve got.
Many players may have started out at the recreational level at a young age, where fun is the name of the game, and progressed to a level where they can try-out for a certain club. These tryouts are normally held almost 10 months before teams actually start playing in travel tournaments and their respective leagues. For example, Javanon an Mockingbird – two of the biggest clubs in the area – held theirs last May and June.
We bring you the teams to look out for this season, the leagues they play in and take a sneak at the tournaments they have been preparing so hard for.
The Teams
Javanon
Javanon is Louisville's -- and Kentucky's -- most successful club, having won two US Youth Soccer national championships in 1997 and 2006. In fact, it has just been named No.17 in Soccer America's best boys' clubs for 2009.
Contributing greatly to the club's current recognition nationwide is Javanon '92 boys, having grabbed all the headlines after reaching the US Youth Soccer national finals last year.
Kentucky Coach of the Year, Tim Chastonay, will be hoping his charges repeat their 2008 success at the Kentucky State Cup and the Midwest Regional Championships at Rockford, Illinois.
The team is shaping up nicely after making it to the final of the Disney Showcase in Miami in December, finding only the academy team from English giants Chelsea too good. Two of its players, Layth Masri and Taylor Hafling, were selected on an All-Star team which will travel to train and compete in England in August.
Javanon '92 will play in the Midwest Regional League (MRL) U17 Premier Division with the strongest teams in the region, including Michigan's Vardar and Vardar West, KCFC Strikers (KS) and FC Pride of Indiana.
Javanon '91 boys’ team has picked up additional players from Indiana and Southern Kentucky to improve to its already talented squad. "They have 11 players who received high school awards at the state level this year," says Javanon development director, Kay Maum. "After winning the MRL last season and adding new players for the spring we look forward to an interesting year with this team."
Javanon '94 boys is an upcoming team of which much is expected. It won the Germantown Invitational in December and will hoping for a good showing in the U15 MRL Premier Division, where Vardar (MI), FC Milwaukee and Eclipse Select (IL) will be among its opposition.
The girls' program at the club is just as strong. Javanon '91 team has been ahead of their game for years and this year should prove to be no different. After winning the last four state titles they should be ready for the spring season.
Good seasons are also expected from the '92 and '94 girls, both of which have witnessed some changes that they hope will see a return to State Cup success.
Javanon '94 girls will be playing in the Midwest Regional League's U15 Premier Division, where such powerhouses as Indiana's Carmel United, Michigan Hawks, Ohio's CSA United and Cincinnati United will be its opposition.
It’s a fact: Javanon means ‘youth’ in Farsi, the native tongue of Iran founder Ali Ahmadi.
Mockingbird Valley
Mockingbird Valley’s Select League is one of the largest in Kentucky, comprising over 30 teams.
One of those teams is three time Kentucky State Open champion Mockingbird '92 girls, who went through the US Youth Soccer Region II championships unbeaten but lost out agonizingly on goal differential.
The team has a new coach in the shape of Ben Schneweis, who was involved with the youth academy at Heart of Midlothian in Edinburgh, Scotland. Mockingbird '92 will play in the 10 team Midwest Regional League U17 Premier Division with Indiana's Dynamo, Ohio Elite, CAS Elite Panthers (OH), Cleveland.
Mockingbird '93 girls will also play in the MRL (U16 Premier) and will be hoping to go one better than runner-up in the Kentucky State Open Cup last year. They will be ably assisted in the task by an experienced coach in the shape of Jonathan Velotta, who is not only the club’s director of coaching, but is also the assistant men and women’s soccer coach at Bellarmine University.
The team features Nikki Hafele, who was recently named Gatorade Kentucky High School Player of the Year after helping Scared Heart to a state title with 14 goals.
Four time state champion Mockingbird ‘93 boys were stunned by United 1996 in last year’s state cup semi-final and the club’s assistant director of coaching, Bryan Michel, is confident Kenny Burke’s boys will bounce back. “They’ve got a phenomenal team this year and have picked up a few new players.”
This year’s U15 boys’ team was also a state finalist last year and will be guided by Rusty McIntosh, one of the most successful coaches in Mockingbird history, with four state championships in his four years with the club.
It’s a fact: The St Matthews club hosts one of the biggest cup tournaments around in the shape of the Louisville Cup. Last year, a record 143 girls’ teams and 133 boys’ teams from U9 to U18 participated. This year, the event takes place on April 18-19 for girls and April 25-26 for boys.
United 1996
United 1996 was founded in 1996 (of course!) by Bosnia's Muhamed Fazlagic a year after he settled in Louisville to be closer to members of his family. Thirteen years on and the club now has over 20 teams playing at Louisville Soccer Park and Floyds Fork Park.
Last year, United '91 International won the Kentucky Open Cup by beating Javanon '91 2-1 in the final. Braco Jusufovic's charges then beat their rival again at the regional championships in Rockford, Illinois in a thrilling 5-3 encounter.
They eventually fell to Scott Gallagher of Missouri in the semi-final, one of the teams they will again meet in the MRL this spring, along with the likes of Fort Wayne Fever (IN), Sockers FC Chicago (IL) and Springfield SC (MO). Recently, the team made the final of the U19 Disney Showcase in Miami, where it found only PDA Cruyff of New Jersey too good.
Muhamed Fazlagic believes United '92, state finalists last year, is another team people should keep an eye out for.
"Dino Sefer and Emery Hamada have been invited to go to FC Cambuur Holland for a year to advance their skills and if lucky -- and they are hardworking -- maybe they will pursue a professional career."
He says the United '93 boys have improved significantly, with several players coming over from Javanon, and the team is hoping to go one better than last year, when it was also a state finalist.
The United Club Classic is one of the first travel tournaments of the season, played the first week in March at Louisville Champions Park, Edith Road.
It's a fact: United 1996 founder Muhamed Fazlagic was a lead singer in a pop band and in 1993 represented Bosnia in the Eurovision Song Contest, one of the most watched annual events across Europe. (He came 16th!)
Thoroughbreds
Thoroughbreds Soccer Club, established in the fall of 1996, now has 300 plus players and 26 teams, which participate in the Kentucky Select Soccer League (KSSL) and the Midwest Regional League (MRL). It is affiliated with the Oldham County Youth Soccer Association (OCYSA).
The club has had seven state cup champions and 15 finalists since 2001. These include the '91 and '92 boys' teams, which won state in 2002 and 2005 respectively, and the '92 and '94 girls' teams, which were successful in 2003.
The club has totally rebuilt its Thoroughbreds ‘92 boys’ team from dormancy after a lot its players moved to the Javanon ‘92s.
“Our ‘new’ player pool is 20 plus strong and playing in the top division of the KSSL,” says Dale Helfrich, general manager and director of coaching at Thoroughbreds.
The U15 and U16 Girls (‘94s and ‘93s) have each added some much needed depth to their rosters and are building towards a solid showing at the Kentucky State Open Cup also. They intend to prepare by participating in the adidas Women’s Invitational in Brentwood, TN from May 8-10.
All of its high school boys’ teams (U15-U18) just kicked of their seasons at the Ohio Elite College Showcase at the end of February.
"It is a great early season tournament that helps get the boys closer towards match fitness, as well as getting some looks from college coaches," says Helfrich. "Several of our players that played in this event last season, got noticed early on from college coaches and signed college scholarships as a result."
It's a fact: Thoroughbreds hosts the very popular Derby Cup tournament from April 24-26.
Louisville Soccer Alliance
Louisville Soccer Alliance has over 350 select and recreational soccer players. Its 20 travel teams play in the Kentucky Select Soccer League.
Ollie Barber, LSA's high school age group co-ordinator, says it is an exciting time at the relatively new club, which is in the process of building a $1.5 million complex on the western edge of Louisville.
"We hope to make it to the point where we have an integrated program throughout the city," he says.
LSA has had at least one team in each of the past three Kentucky Open Cup finals, and the club is looking to its '92 girls' team and U15 freshman-filled '94 boys' team to continue the tradition.
The '92 girls are coached by John Kassebaum and the squad has been bolstered by some nice additions from Mockingbird and southern Indiana.
The U15 boys team, meanwhile, is coached by Bruce Yeagle, and will be hoping to be at the business end of state cup play.
It’s a fact: U15 boys’ coach Bruce Yeagle is best known in youth soccer circles for guiding Javanon's U19 team to national success in 2006.
Indiana
Southern Indiana United
Southern Indiana United was formed in 2004 when Floyd County Youth Soccer Association merged with SIU Soccer Club to form an organization to promote both recreational and select youth soccer teams.
SIU will be looking to its U15 Mavericks, U16 Rampage and U18 boys' teams for success this spring. All three will play at the Indiana State Cup, which is part of the US Youth Soccer National Championship series and features 16 teams in each age group.
U16 Rampage, which won the Indiana Challenge Cup in 2007, has advanced into the prestigious Indiana Soccer League (ISL) premier division.
"Our goals are to win at least one tournament this spring and finish as one of the top two teams in the ISL," says coach Bruce Rigsby. "Also, we would like to have a great showing in the State Tournament by coming out of the first round with a winning record." Rampage is dedicating its season to Kathy Brown, who recently passed away. Her sons Wade and Trent play on the team.
U15 Mavericks, which was runner-up in the Indiana Challenge Cup last year, will play in both the ISL first division and the KSSL premier division. Coach Mike Vejar says he has "high hopes" of hiss diverse group of players making the final four.
SIU's U18 team has a number of valuable new acquisitions, including Floyd Central's Jordan Adams, who scored a record breaking 29 goals in 18 games for the Highlanders in the fall, as well as Jim Curd and Omar Salguero from Providence. Brandon Rogers' side will be playing in the ISL also this season, and is confident of a fine showing in the State Cup.
It’s a fact: One of SIU’s best known and tireless members, vice president with responsibility for select soccer, Debbie Webb, has no children playing with the club.
Net-Surfers
Net-Surfers is an all-girls' club from southern Indiana which was founded in 1995. Starting out with a girls' and a boys' team, it dropped the boys' outfit a year later.
While long-time coach Dave Smith is expecting its talented non high school age going U13 and U14 teams to fly the flag for the club -- both play in the Indiana State Cup this year -- he says the U17 girls' team is fortunate to have gained the coaching services of Shannon Smyth and Lindsay Boling.
Smyth, a starting striker for the UofL women's team the past three years, is on cue to graduate in May and hasn't ruled out playing professionally in Europe. Boling, the Lady Cards' leading scored as a junior midfielder last fall, was a high school all-American at Louisville's Sacred Heart Academy. Together they bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to a team that will be playing in the KSSL.
"We can't wait to get started," Smyth said. "The girls have so much potential and seem to enjoy being together. It's going to be a fun season.”
It's a fact: Net-Surfers' coach Shannon Smyth played for Ireland in the World University Games in 2007, reaching the final four.
The Leagues
Midwest Regional League (MRL)
The Midwest Regional League provides the highest standard of competitive play for more than 600 elite youth teams in 13 states. Teams in the MRL's top tier (Premier Division) vie for wildcard spots in US Youth Soccer Region II Championships, which this year will be held at Sioux Falls (SD) from June 19-24. Competition in the spring season will feature both Boys and Girls U-14 through U-18 age groups.
Kentucky Select Soccer League (KSSL)
The Kentucky Select Soccer League was formed in January 1998 and is now made up of more than 300 teams from 40 soccer clubs in Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia. Local teams involved in the league include Clark Co Indiana YSA, Javanon, Louisville Soccer Alliance, Net-Surfers, Southern Indiana United, Mockingbird, Thoroughbreds and United 1996.
Indiana Soccer League (ISL)
The Indiana Soccer League was established to provide a top level of competition throughout the state of Indiana for teams U13 through U18 at Premier, first division and second division level. The spring season starts on April 4 and runs until June 7.
The Tournaments
Clubs play in many travel tournaments, which obviously have their own prestige attached (some we’ve already mentioned), but all are used ultimately in pursuit of the ‘holy grail’ – winning state, and possibly going beyond to regional and national.
The Kentucky State Open Cup is the first step in the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, the nation's premier youth soccer tournament. It is organized by the Kentucky Youth Soccer Association (KYSA) and is open to teams aged Under 13 through Under 19, both boys and girls. The first weekend will be played from May 23-25 in Lexington, with the second weekend being played at Lover's Lane Soccer Complex in Bowling Green on May 30 and 31.
The preliminary rounds of the Indiana State Cup, organized by the Indiana Youth Soccer Association (IYSA), will be held at FC Pride's Lawrence Soccer Complex in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne USA Citadel's Kreager Park from May 15-17. The finals will held at Goebel Park, Evansville from June 5-7.
Winners of the Kentucky State Open Cup and the Indiana State Cup advance to US Youth Soccer Region II Championships at Sioux Falls, South Dakota (June 19-24). Winners of the regional competition will advance to the national championships in Lancaster, MA from July 21-26.
Meanwhile, the 2009 Indiana Challenge Cup Preliminary Round -- which a number of southern Indiana teams will also be participating in -- will be held May 29-31 and the finals will be held from June 12-14.
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