by Steven Wilson, Sports Editor – The Press Tribune
photo Brent Robken Photography

Placer United Goalkeeper, Ryan Kelly

February 16, 2016 — Four days after Rocklin High student-athlete Trevor Wildberger lost his battle to cancer this past August, Roseville High’s Ryan Kelly slipped a fluorescent green bracelet over his wrist and it’s been there ever since.

Scribed on the soft rubber is Trevor’s full name and the date of his passing, August 25, 2015, which serves as a reminder for Kelly to keep the game of soccer in perspective and cherish each day he gets to take the field.

“Everyone loved him,” Kelly explained. “He was really nice and he was a goalkeeper like me, so we trained together. I got really close to him in just the month and a half that I knew him. When he passed away, everyone was devastated.”

Toward the end of 2013, while playing goalie for Placer United, Wildberger was injured in the process of making a save. The injury resulted in a hospital visit and, although the ensuing x-rays came back negative, they revealed a mass in his adrenal gland. Two months later, he was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma Cancer.

“As soon as he passed away, I started playing each game for him,” the Roseville High senior added. “I’ve tried to use his same mentality and that’s really helped me.

“He was always a happy person. No matter how bad his cancer was, or how sick he was, he would always come out to our practices, try as hard as he could and even if he made a bad play, he would (forget about it) and move on to the next play. He was just always happy.”

Utilizing a similarly positive mindset, Kelly saw an improvement in his play and became a dominant force on the field. Not only did he earn six shutouts for the Roseville Tigers varsity team this past season in the cage, but he’s been a standout goalie for Placer United as well.

Kelly’s outstanding play on the pitch this past year helped him earn a scholarship to Sonoma State, where he will join the men’s soccer program and fight for playing time at goalkeeper.

“It’s pretty much a dream come true,” he confessed. “I’ve always wanted to play college soccer, so to play at Sonoma, where it’s not too far and I can also come home after soccer season, it’s just a perfect location for me. I also love the school, the coach is really nice, so I feel like it’s a perfect fit for me.”

Although he’s moving on to the Division II level, Kelly will continue to honor Wildberger and plans to do so for the foreseeable future.

“Before our games, we say, ‘Trevor is here with us,’ so he’s still an inspiration for all of us,” Kelly said. “I’m definitely going to continue that.”

During his speech at Placer United’s signing ceremony last Wednesday, Kelly brought up Wildberger’s passing and shared his fondest memories of the young goalkeeper. Afterwards, he spoke of his close friend and his will to persevere through tough times.

“If someone is struggling that hard, you should be able to persevere through anything you’re dealing with,” Kelly concluded.

Congratulations to Placer United 2003’s Kellie Pagador and Emma Schafer, as well as 1999 Nicolette Lewis!

US Youth Soccer is proud to announce the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP) All-Tournament Teams for the 2016 ODP Region IV Championships, which took place Jan. 7-10 at Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix.

The four-day tournament featured teams of elite players in the 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 age groups, from Region IV, which includes Alaska, Arizona, California North, California South, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The Tournament Teams were selected from the US Youth Soccer Regional Coaching staff. Throughout the event players competed in matches in front of collegiate coaches and the ODP Regional Staff for the opportunity to be selected to a higher level of play.

by Andy Furillo, afurillo@sabee.com

Senior Jiovanna Mamola, at practice on Wednesday, is about to begin her fourth and final year on the soccer team at Kennedy High School in Sacramento. Mamola won a soccer scholarship to UC Irvine after overcoming the challenge of auditory processing disorder. photo: Jose Luis Villegas jvillegas@sacbee.com

February 12, 2016–The soccer part looks easy for Jiovanna Mamola. She controls the midfield, muscles through traffic, distributes the ball as she pleases, and if you give her space from as far as 35 yards, you better tell the keeper to prepare for a rocket.

Mamola’s talent on the pitch attracted the attention of college scouts, but it was the fight she showed in the classroom that earned a scholarship to play Division I soccer at UC Irvine.

As a kid, Mamola battled attention-deficit disorder. When it looked as if she got a handle on that, up popped another educational barrier. She couldn’t understand what her teachers were saying, due to a disconnection between her ears and her brain. School psychologists diagnosed her with auditory processing disorder. A family discussion ensued about placing her into an alternative educational curriculum.

“Jio,” as she is called, vetoed the idea. She wanted to mainstream it, to take the challenge more on her own. She paid the price, struggling through math and science and taking a couple extra years to work her way through algebra. But work through it she did. She moved on, and up, and now she’s a senior at Kennedy High School with A’s and B’s.

All the while, she has had soccer, and Mamola believes the beautiful game played a major role in inspiring her toward her college scholarship, in transforming a learning disability into motivation.

“I felt like I had a bigger struggle, and a lot of girls who are out there didn’t have the same thing I was going through, and I felt like it made me want to fight it more, and you know, just overcome it,” Mamola said. “And it really helped me because I was pushing more, and it felt like I was pushing more than most girls were.

“It’s almost like I was singled out, I was different, and it made me fight more, and I think it made me think harder and process it more.”

Everybody knows it takes a village to raise a scholarship soccer player. Mamola’s community began with her parents, a couple of sports nuts. Her dad, Joel, rowed crew for Saint Mary’s before running the Two Guys from Italy restaurant with considerable success for 20 years before retiring and closing it a few years ago. Her mother, Jade, played tennis at Cosumnes River College and soccer at Heidelberg University in Germany before attending Sacramento State and Loyola New Orleans for her degrees. She’s now a teacher at Cristo Rey High School. They have three other siblings heavily into sports.

Beyond family, Jio got big assists from teachers and staff at Leonardo Da Vinci School and at Kennedy.

In her elementary years, she was what a sensitive observer would call “spirited;” she described her early self as “very chaotic.” She had some obvious problems with her attention span. During middle school, it was suggested she be tested for auditory processing disorder.

Once it was discovered, teachers, administrators and psychologists found solutions through accommodations. They printed teachers’ notes ahead of time so she could follow along better in class and not worry so much about listening and understanding at the same time, and they gave her more time to take tests.

“It was just getting people together to see how she could succeed,” her mother said. “Growing up with all that support, she followed her goals. It might take her longer and she might have had to go through different routes, but she kept plugging away.”

But she knew there was only one person responsible for her success in learning.

“My mom can only do so much,” she said. “My teachers can only do so much. So, it’s me. It needs to start with me. I’ve learned that in the last year. I had to start doing stuff. I’m growing up. I’m going off to college next year. I’m going to have to do all these things by myself.”

On the field, Mamola has become one of the best girls soccer players in the region. She starred for FC Elk Grove last year, scoring 12 goals, before switching this season to the Placer United Club in the NorCal National Premier League.

She had a blast as a freshman for Kennedy, scoring 19 goals. Though she scored fewer goals the past two years after moving from center forward to midfield, it helped her team keep winning. She kicks off her senior season Feb. 26 against Center.

“Every single coach wants her,” said Marcia Silva, her coach last year with FC Elk Grove. “She is always doing extra work. Her commitment is to the team no matter what. She is the first one to help her teammates. She is a really talented player who never gives up.”

Silva said Mamola can expect more attention from talent scouts when she plays Division I college soccer. A national age-group team could be next.

“She could go far,” Silva said.

Looking at Jio Mamola, it’s easy to see that she already has.

Arizona State University Women’s Soccer Players Aly Moon (left) and Jessica Raybe (right)

Jessica Raybe, ’97, just finished up her sophomore season at Arizona State University.  It was a great year for Jessica as she found the back of the net FIVE times for the Sun Devils. Raybe received two awards at the end of the season sports event:  “Most Improved Player” and Co-Offensive “Most Valuable Player.”

“These were awards were voted on by my teammates,” said Raybe. “It was a real honor and I am so happy that I chose to come to ASU because it has had such an amazing impact on my life.”

Congratulations on a great year Jess!

Placer United U12B 04 Gold – 2016 State Cup Finalists

Saturday, February 6th will go down as an unlucky day for Pacer United when both our U12 04 Boys Gold and U13 03 Girls Gold teams lost out in the finals of State Cup.

The U12 boys went into their last game of a really brilliant 2015/16 season with only one lost game all year, but came up short on the big day to a good Bay Area Barcelona team. The boys, who had come back from the jaws of defeat a few times during the course of the year, couldn’t find a way to get the tying goal and take the game into overtime as they narrowly lost out by a score of two goals to one.

Placer United U13G 03 Gold – 2016 State Cup Finalists

The U13 girls also came up short by one goal in their last game of the season, finishing three to two in favor of CV Magic. Twice the girls fell behind and twice the girls answered back only to concede a third heart breaker with 5 minutes to go in the game. The girls threw everything at the Magic in a frantic last five minutes, but just like the boys, couldn’t find the tying goal to take the game into OT.

Congratulations to both our teams on making the NorCal State Cup finals — ending your seasons as the #2 team in NorCal is a really great achievement!

Great job to everyone. Go Placer!

By: Steven Wilson, Sports Editor – The Press Tribune

Emily Talmi plays high school soccer with the Granite Bay Grizzlies.

February 6, 2016 — Granite Bay High sophomore Emily Talmi — along with her Placer United teammate, Abena Aidoo, from the under-16 ’00 squad — was selected as part of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) team to play in the Region IV friendly tournament in Costa Rica this month. The tournament features the top eighteen 2000 age-group players, selected from the local region to play a number of friendlies at the international level held February 25 through March 3 in San Jose, Costa Rica.

“When I first heard about this, I was astonished,” Talmi confessed. “This is one of the greatest honors I could get at my age. In the future, hopefully things like this will come around again, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Talmi was selected for the ’00 ODP Regional Team, earning recognition as one of the area’s best youthful talents.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to go out of the country and play strong teams from Costa Rica,” she added.

Although the honor comes with a chance to visit a new and exciting destination, Talmi admitted she didn’t get much notice to pack her bags and board a flight.

“To be honest, I didn’t really get full warning about this trip,” she said with a laugh. “But a week ago, I got an email from the ODP staff saying I was chosen to play some friendlies from Costa Rica with some of my teammates from region four. But the email didn’t really say who we will be playing or what other teams are going.”

The ODP Region IV team consists of players selected from the western U.S. states from Colorado to Hawaii. Talmi has been on the team for approximately four years, but will make the journey to Costa Rica for the first time in her life.

“I’ve been to Mexico before, but that’s the farthest I’ve traveled out of the United States,” she stated.

The Granite Bay High standout is also involved in a local Player Development Program (PDP) team and she has already committed to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo for the 2018 season.

“They’re just basically programs that try to get you to the next level, which would hopefully be the national team,” Talmi pointed out.

“Out of every tournament I’ve played in, I think this one will be the most beneficial because you get to play against teams that are coming from way different cultures and much different backgrounds,” she added. “The way they’ve been taught to play (the game of) soccer is probably crazy different than how we’ve been taught.”

Talmi believes this stage will help her open up her game and expand her horizons as a player.

“You watch the national teams play in, for example, the Women’s World Cup and you see Japan connecting the ball and it’s nothing like how the U.S. does it,” she explained. “Getting to play like that will be unbelievable.”

But Talmi won’t be alone on the trip. She was selected with one of her Placer United teammates and will be joined in Costa Rica by a friend from Hawaii and a few more players from Northern California.

“Sadly, Abena won’t be able to go because she just had surgery on her knee, but it’s still exciting to play with some of my friends,” Talmi said.

Talmi wanted to thank the coaching staff at Placer United and Ron Benjamin for their training and preparation in this process.

February 3, 2016 — In a continued effort to improve player development, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy program will expand its academy program to include an Under 12 age group, and an Under 13 age group. The existing Under 14 academy structure will change to include one age group starting in Fall 2016.

USSF Soccer Director of Scouting, Tony Lepore, explains, “Existing Development Academy clubs will now add a Under 12 age group, and then split to single age groups at the Under 13 and Under 14 ages. This will help streamline and simplify the development pathway for the Academy clubs, while creating a consistent environment from Under 12 and up for the elite level player.”

“These new steps  will help improve the overall environment at an earlier development stage and help clubs create a more consistent, step-by-step pathway for players to learn,” added Lepore.

The opportunity to provide a simplified development environment for players will have a direct impact on their advancement as players,” said US Academy Director Jared Micklos. “U.S. Soccer will continue to invest resources and work together with our clubs to serve as the leaders in the community to collaborate with local clubs to provide players with an opportunity to grow.”

In addition, U.S. Soccer and the Academy will focus on improving the coaching environment through enhanced educational opportunities, license requirements and support from U.S. Soccer Technical Staff. In an effort to continue to increase the quality of coaching for younger players, Academy coaches will move away from a results-driven philosophy, apply consistent standards for training and games, and unify player development initiatives and standards across the country.

“When Placer United was selected in 2013 as the Under 14 USSF Development Academy club for our area it was a great honor and privilege for all involved within our club,” said Placer United Director of Operations, Paul O Brien. “To enter the 2016 season having the ability to field three different USSF Development Academy age groups is a true testament to all the hard work everybody has put forth both on and off the field within our soccer club.”

“From our coaches, who have continually sought more and higher levels of training and education; to our club administration and board of directors who have worked to support the goals of the staff; to our parents who believe in our club philosophies; to our alumni at both the college and professional levels for paving the way for future players; and to all our current players who proudly wear our colors, I would like to thank you all for keeping our soccer club moving in a very positive direction.” said O’Brien

Placer United will hold an informational meeting to outline their Academy plans on February 11, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the Placer United Soccer Indoor Training Center in Rocklin.

Go Placer!

Links

• USSF Development Academy Launches U12 Program
• USSF U12 Divisional Alignment Diagram

Placer United U12 Boys 04 Gold with Coach Paul O’Brien

Congratulations to the Placer United U12 Boys 04 Gold team as they now join the Placer United U13G 03 Gold team at the NorCal State Cup Finals on Februry 6th in Modesto.

Similar to our U13 Girls, the U12 Boys won all their games in opening rounds one and two and were feeling good going into the knock out rounds.

In the quarter final game, the boys were drawn against #1 ranked Santa Clara Sporting and came out on top with a 2-1 victory to advance into semi-final round with goals from Chase Tanon and Luc Summers.

In the final four round the boys were up against a highly talented Central Marin FC team who had just defeated the higher ranked San Jose Earthquakes team in their quarter final game to deservedly take their place in the top four.

The semi-final round was truly a great advertisement for the youth game as both sides played at a really good pace while producing some fine soccer. With the score 1-0 to Marin FC at the half, the boys in yellow showed some great team character as they came back to win 2-1, both goals coming from Luc Summers, and advanced to the NorCal State Cup Final.

The U12 Boys have kept an incredible 2015/16 season going as they now have played 45 games, won 39, tied 5 and lost one to the team they will now play in the State Cup Final, Bay Area Barcelona.

Great job guys, good luck in the final. Go Placer!