It all started about 4 1/2 year ago, shortly after her 5th birthday, when we signed her up for AYSO for the first time. Of course we were excited...our oldest child playing soccer for the first time. It was a family event....We bought her the regulation-sized soccer ball and a water bottle, dressed her in some "practice clothes", loaded her up in the car with our 2 1/2 year old and our 4 month old and headed off to her first practice. Little did we know what we were in store for.......So, she ran out on the soccer field, that day of her first practice, with her new team and coach and started doing the drills with the other 5 year old girls. David and I just sat and watched in amazement. She was manuvering that ball and running around like she had been playing soccer for years!!! After that first practice, the coach came up to us and asked us how long she had been playing soccer. He was quite suprised to learn that this was her first time even playing with a soccer ball.........
From that day on, Samone has dominated every rec soccer team (AYSO and MicroSoccer) she has been on (boys and girls). What parent wouldn't be proud??? We have had so many people come up to us and comment about her and her natural abilities!! During one particular game during a MicroSoccer season, I remember a man (another player's grandpa) coming up and asked me her name. He said "I'm gonna have to remember that, because we're gonna be reading about this girl in the paper one day." Turns out he was a retired high school soccer coach and he said, "What she has is something you can't teach. You either have it or you don't...and she has it." Obviously, his comment really stuck with me. I was so PROUD!! This was the year she turned 7....
So, we started hearing a lot of talk about "Club Soccer" and had we thought about it.... What is "Club Soccer" I inquired. Well, this is a year-round soccer club made up of age-based teams that travel all around Arizona to play soccer. At the time, that just sounded crazy to me...Really? TRAVELING to play soccer??!! And YEAR_ROUND!!! I thought a parent would have to be crazy to even consider such a thing.
I decided Samone needed a break from soccer, so we took that Fall off . I figured we would start up again in the Spring and see if that "magic" was still there for Samone. Well, Spring came and we signed her up for another session of MicroSoccer and, wouldn't you know it...the magic was there and stronger than ever.
There was no way of denying that Samone had something. We were approached by Michelle Novelli after one of her MicroSoccer games. Michelle was the coach of the U09 Girls Flagstaff Soccer Club Team and she was very interested in having Samone on her team. I talked to her about the commitment, the traveling, the practices. She assured me that at this age they don't travel much, it is really just about teaching the girls the fundamentals and getting them exposed to competative soccer.
David and I discussed it at length!! This would be a big commitment for our family. But we knew that Samone was ready for the next step with this. So, we signed her up for Flagstaff Soccer Club!!!!
And, here we are, 1 1/2 years later, completely consumed in Club Soccer. It has become a part of who and what our family is. And Samone just continues to amaze me. We have been fortunate enough to be part of a great team with a lot of talented girls and some really dedicated parents. We are Flagstaff United 2000. The team began as a Division 3 team, but after the first year we were put in Division 2, which is where we started this year at. Now, only half way through our 2nd year as a team, the girls have advanced to Division 1 and are consistantly being placed in the the Gold Bracket for tournaments. We are traveling a lot, which I am not always thrilled about. But we have a great little team that is out there kicking some serious soccer butt!!!!!
Samone plays forward about 99.9% of the time. That is her position and she dominates it!! She is responsible for at least 3/4 of the goals our team has scored, either by scoring them herself or assisting in the score.
At the end of last season, Samone and her team were at Skills training one day after a 1st place win at a Las Vegas Tournament. Skills training is put on by the NAU Women's Soccer Team where some of the NAU players actually come work with club players on their skills and footwork. Andre Luciano, the NAU Head Soccer Coach himself, happened to be there that day.
He actually went right up to Samone and said to her, "You're #5, arent you?" She said, "Yes." Then he said to her, "I saw you playing in Las Vegas. You're really good!!" Holy Moly!!! That the NAU Head Soccer Coach noticed her at a tournament, then remembered her and came up to talk to her at Skills training. She was on cloud 9. He went up to David and said, "Is that your daughter?" David said yes and he told him, "She caught my eye at that tournament. She has a lot of potential!" That was such a confirmation that we are doing the right thing!! It's not every day a college soccer coach notices a young soccer player!!!
Then, Samone went to an NAU Soccer Camp over summer break that was put on by Andre Luciano and his soccer team. The first day there he came up to Samone and said, "Hey, Samone!! I am so glad you are here. We are gonna have a lot of fun." She was so excited he rememebered her. David and I were watching some of the camp one morning and he came up to us and was just complimenting her skills and telling us how good she is and that she has something that just can't be taught (hadn't I heard that before!!). He said she has a really understanding of the game and it just comes naturally to her. He said she is one to watch for Olympic Soccer Development!!!
She is good, alright!!! But, as her mom, I still try to keep her grounded and not let soccer overtake her life ( or our lives') completely. Though that is harder than it sounds. She loves soccer, her teammates, her coach...... she loves everything about it. It has been a crazy ride and I must say, I am excited to see just where it takes us.
Here are some pictures from last Saturday's game against San Tan. We lost 4-0, but they are ranked the #1 team in Arizona, so, even though we lost, we still held our own!! One day we just may beat San Tan!!!
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