September 24, 2004

Evergreen Sports

U.S. Club Soccer

Evergreen Premier Boys U12 soccer team wins 2004 National Cup

Premier Boys U12 National Champions (from left): Back row: Johnny Fernandez, Gustavo Silva, Smiley Hittler, Edwin Joya, Ralph Nunez, Pedro Martinez and Coach Dan Silva. Front row: Taylor Hoch, Nestor Cortes, Pedro Rios, Arnold Lopez, Christian Sanchez, Andreas Silva, Danny Chavez and Freddy Penaloza. Not pictured: Ian Karlsson, Michael Chavez, Jonathan Martinez and Gabriel Marquez.

The Santa Clara Sporting Pumas, a U.S. Club Soccer team comprised mostly of Evergreen players, won the National Cup Championship in the Premier Boys U12 category in North Carolina this summer. Head Coach Dan Silva and assistant coaches Jose Luis Lopez and Dave Siracusa led this hard-working team to victory.

Most of the team members began playing together in 1999, when they were part of a recreational team in the Mt. Hamilton Youth Soccer League. Today, they are a serious “soccer-only” traveling team that trains two to three times a week. So serious, in fact, that one assistant coach, Siracusa, also is the head coach for San Jose State University’s women’s soccer.

Long road to victory
This was the team’s first trip to the National Championships, held July 22 – 25 in North Carolina. To qualify for the National Cup, they first competed and came in second place in the premier NorCal League. They moved on to the regional tournament in Las Vegas in June, where they won in the U12 division. The next stop was Nationals.

During the National Cup played just outside of Raleigh, N.C., the team had to play regional winners from the Midwest, the South and the East. They dominated the competition and won all three matches, defeating U12 teams from Ft. Wayne, Ind., Philadelphia and Augusta, Ga., to earn the National Cup.

Coach Silva said, “All the kids played well. They played within the disciplined system that they designed. They didn’t play street ball.”

Physically getting to North Carolina was half the battle, according to John Hittler, a parent. The 16-hour ordeal began at 3:30 a.m. when the team met to catch an early flight out of the San Francisco International Airport.

The layover for their connecting flight would have been painless had an employee not accidentally deployed the emergency slide, causing a major delay. The team consequently missed their connecting flight, and ended up checking into their hotel at midnight.

Hittler said that arriving at what felt like 9 p.m. kept these 12-year-old California kids bouncing around a bit before they finally fell asleep. So their first game of the championship—starting at 8 a.m.—was the scariest game of all.
With almost no sleep, a lactic acid build-up in their muscles from the long flight and the South’s hot, humid weather, Silva could see them fading fast toward the end of the game against the Georgia team. Luckily, they won 4 – 3, and won their remaining two games with much fewer strikes against them.

“It was a great accomplishment and a great experience for the kids—traveling and representing not only our community, but also our city and our region of the country,” said Silva. “Traveling as a group the whole time, we met a lot of good people who were interested in what we were doing and where we were from.”

This fall, the team moved up to the U13 division, ready to work toward their next shot at the National Cup.
For more information about U.S. Club Soccer or to be placed on a mailing list, go to the Web at: http://www.usclubsoccer.org/competitions/index.cfm?p=67 or call (843) 429-0006.

About U.S. Club Soccer
U.S. Club Soccer was founded in early 2000 as the National Association of Competitive Soccer Clubs (NACSC) by a group of soccer club coaching directors from several well known soccer clubs from different geographical areas. The organization grew to more than 140 registered members in 35 states, and in July 2001, the organization applied for and was granted membership in the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). 

This provided a seat on the USSF Board, and allowed the organization to sanction soccer clubs, teams, competitions and events in the same manner as any other USSF member.  The number of clubs that registered online grew to more than 250 by the end of 2001, and the organization changed its name to U.S .Club Soccer. 

Chaboya hosts first cross country meet of season

Chaboya Middle School hosted and won the first cross-country meet of the season for middle-school-aged students in Evergreen. Quimby Oak Middle School, Ley Va Middle School and Valley Christian joined Chaboya runners on the course.

Due to district-wide budget cuts, this will be a short season, ending with a countywide sectional race on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at Alum Rock Park. Schools from all over the county may compete. Here are the top five runners in each age group from the 2.1-mile race held Sept. 16.

C boys
Place Name Time School
1 Gabriel Larot 15:29 Chaboya
2 Larry Melton 15:40 Chaboya
3 Jeremy Aylard 16:06 Chaboya
4 Jonathon Aylard 16:09 Chaboya
5 Marleo Borceguin 16:12 Quimby Oak

C Girls
Place Name Time School
1 Veronica Lane 18:14 Valley Christian
2 Barbora Kasanova 19:10 Chaboya
3 Shanelle Katzman 19:16 Chaboya
4 Nicole Reyes 20:32 Quimby Oak
5 Linda Toung 23:34 Quimby Oak

7th Grade Girls
Place Name Time School
1 Riyana Stractker 16:38 Quimby Oak
2 Anna Plascencia 16:53 Ley Va
3 Kelly Quicvk 17:34 Chaboya
4 Alex Roberts 17:50 Chaboya
5 Christine Larson 18:03 Chaboya

7th Grade Boys
Place Name Time School
1 Ian Karrsson 14:57 Chaboya
2 Brandon Barnes 15:45 Chaboya
3 Benjiman Walker 16:23 Chaboya
4 Marleo Orpia 16:41 Quimby Oak
5 Rick Covarrubias 16:42 Chaboya

8th Grade Girls
Place Name Time School
1 Jennifer Bergman 14:20 Valley Christian
2 Bernadette Bettencourt 14:30 Ley Va
3 Samantha Collins 15:22 Chaboya
4 Raylene Larot 15:43 Chaboya
5 Alaina Thomas 16:06 Chaboya

8th Grade Boys
Place Name Time School
1 Evan Crockett 14:01 Quimby
2 Jeremiah Knight 14:02 Ley Va
3 Ryan Thomas 15:04 Chaboya
4 Vincent Troung 15:27 Ley Va
5 Jay Belena 15:29 Ley Va

NYS offers variety of sports this fall
Season begins Oct. 30

National Youth Sports (NYS), after completing its first full year in Santa Clara County, is accepting registration for fall sports including basketball, soccer, flag football, cheerleading and t-ball.

The season begins Saturday, Oct. 30. Registration is open to boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 12. Teams are divided into specific age groups.

Registration forms are available at local schools or parents can register online at http://www. nationalyouthsports.biz. A mandatory parents meeting will be held Saturday, Oct. 16 to review rules, policies and allow parents to determine coaches and contacts. Times will be announced in accordance with each sport.

National Youth Sports just finished its inaugural year in Santa Clara County. The league has grown to 350 kids, with many returning including their parents as coaches. The league expects to grow to 500 kids or more by the end of the year.

“We are a community and parent-based youth sports league. Everyone seems to enjoy the recreational atmosphere and the ability to contribute and participate in the formation and direction of their child’s team,” said Rob Gelphman, assistant director, NYS, Santa Clara County.

“The parents also realize that when they sign up their kids, they sign up themselves. This is true for all leagues, so they might as well get involved,” Gelphman added.

“Parents have also said they like the variety of team sports offered so that they do not have to sign up for different leagues and organizations, and adjust to new rules, fields and policies for each sport their child plays.”

The registration fee is $75. The league provides all the equipment, fields and facilities, shirts and referees.

All games are on Saturday. Basketball games are held at Kehilla Jewish High in San Jose, near Saratoga Avenue and Highway 280. Soccer, t-ball and flag football are played at Boynton High School, adjacent to the Kehilla gym.

National Youth Sports is a non-profit youth athletic organization providing a variety of team sports across the United States. NYS started in 1993 with just 300 kids in its first season and now serves more than 60,000 annually. NYS emphasizes the importance of sportsmanship, teamwork and learning basic fundamentals rather than playing only to win. For more information, visit www.nationalyouthsports.biz.