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Alabama Soccer Association

1999 Girls ODP State Team

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Contents

Introduction _________________________________________________________________ 3

THANK YOU FROM TECHNICAL DIRECTOR ZAC CRAWFORD ____________________ 3

Player Highlights ___________________________________________________________ 4

Staff Highlights ____________________________________________________________ 4

Performance Highlights ______________________________________________________ 4

2016 Regional Trials __________________________________________________________ 5

College Coaches/Pro Scouts: _________________________________________________ 6

Alabama’s Success: ________________________________________________________ 7

Alabama Soccer Association’s Growth: _________________________________________ 8

Boy's Rankings for 2016 Region Trials: _________________________________________ 9

Girl's Rankings for 2016 Region Trials: _________________________________________ 11

Alabama Selections for 2016 Region Trials: _______________________________________ 12

BOYS SELECTIONS _______________________________________________________ 13

GIRLS SELECTIONS _______________________________________________________ 13

How Do I Get Involved as a Player? ____________________________________________ 145

How Do I Get Involved as a Coach/Admin? ______________________________________ 146

Trials Summary _____________________________________________________________ 16

Thank You Dr. George Brown __________________________________________________ 18

Congratulations Brandon Servania ______________________________________________ 18

Contact/Organization Information _______________________________________________ 20

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Introduction

THANK YOU FROM TECHNICIAL DIRECTOR ZAC CRAWFORD

Dear players, parents, and coaches,

Thank you all so much for your support during this past ODP Seasonal Year. We have once

again broken state records for the number of players placed into the Region III pool. This is a

testament to the hard work of many people and shows that we can achieve great results right

here in Alabama. While setting records is fantastic, we would rather prefer to set new

standards of performance. Every year, we want to strive to maximize our own potential.

While it is the goal of all of our players to make the Region Team, it’s the same for coaches. I

was asked to be on the 2002 Boys Region III ODP Staff as an assistant coach. It kept me

busy during the 5 days of camp, plus the 3 days of holdovers. I was able to keep up with our

teams and really enjoyed being around all of our children, coaches, and admin staff.

I particularly enjoyed spending time with our 04 Boys led by Coach Jamie Ferguson who

battled from 2-0 deficits in their final 3 matches to earn hard-fought 2-2 draws. I also enjoyed

being there with our 99 Girls for the last game in a 2-1 win over South Texas as I had coached

them all season, but had a conflict with my Region assignment. It was also great to see our 99

Boys place 12 players into pool games; this shows we should never give up on the process.

I also enjoyed the last week with the 2000 Girls who went toe to toe with the top teams from

FL, GA, and NC. I also loved being there with both of our 2001 Girls teams as they both did a

fantastic job; the 1st team had a thrilling 3-2 come from behind victory over TN, and our2nd

team battled until the very end against LA learning what it means to play without regret.

Overall, I am very grateful to be able to lead such an outstanding program. Hats off to our

program Coordinator Rob Dominguez and other Coordinators throughout the year such as

Rozi Osman, Colin Barnes, Katie Steinert, and Sara Samchok. Thank you to Martha Disko for

handling all of the administrative duties in the office. Without the great support of the staff and

parents, we would not have a successful program. Thank you for your continued support and I

hope to see you all on the journey again this next year.

Sincerely,

Zac Crawford, ASA Technical Director

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Player Highlights

This year, Alabama is proud to have produced forty-four players into the Region III Pool for

the 2015-2016 ODP season. Last year for the 2014-2015 year, Alabama placed a record 38

players into the R3 Pool. Overall during the past two years, Alabama has developed a total of

eighty-two region pool players and three national pool players. A new record was also set

with 10 boys placed into the 2002 R3 Pool and 6 girls placed into the 2000 R3 Pool. Two

players from Alabama State 2nd teams also made the Region Pool (Carlos Herrera-02B and

Niko Bravo-Martinez-03B).

Staff Highlights

This year saw the growth and development of a number of new staff members. AL ODP had a

combined total of over sixty different staff members learning the USSF/ODP curriculum and

how to teach possession soccer. We incorporated coaches from both the USYS club system

and all tiers of collegiate coaching. The AL ODP coaching staff featured seven US Soccer “A”

License coaches, two “B” Licensed coaches, and one UEFA “B” Licensed coach. Seven ASA

State coaches also served as Region 3 ODP Staff coaches including Allison Whitworth, Sha

Hagiel, Manny Sanchez, Matty Thorne, Oleg Sinelkov, Colin Barnes, and Zac Crawford.

Performance Highlights

Alabama teams dominated at region trials. While we focus on developing individuals and

teams according to the ODP philosophy, we are proud of how well our teams performed

against the other states of the region. Nearly all games played by Alabama teams were close

in score, or won with great success. The 2000 Girls State team played in the top bracket

against the top sides from Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. The 2002 Boys 1st team has

not lost a match in 2 years at Region Trials and the 1999 Boys went undefeated playing

against quality competition. The 2004 boys were able to draw three games after coming from

behind 2-0 playing against 2003 aged teams from South Texas (X2) and Oklahoma.

2004 Boys State Team with Coach Jamie Ferguson

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2016 Regional Trials During the final weeks of June and July, Alabama becomes the center for the south east’s elite

youth soccer world as twelve different state associations descend on Alabama for ODP Region

Trials. The University of Montevallo hosted the girl’s event, while the University of Alabama

hosted the boys. Alabama sent nearly 300 players to camp between the birth-years of 99-04. In

total, Alabama contributed seventeen teams to R3’s trials this year. All Alabama teams had full

rosters and even contributed to teams they played against in order to help them fill their rosters

for matches. Second teams were formed in numerous age groups and Alabama was one of the

few states capable of bringing an 04 boys group to Tuscaloosa.

Alabama ODP has focused on educating and developing players according to the R3 and US

Soccer playing style. In ODP, we focus on the 1-4-3-3 system and teach possession soccer.

Due to this adherence to the curriculum and focused effort from both the staff and players,

great strides have been made in the past three seasons for Alabama ODP. For the second

year in a row, even our second-team players are attracting the attention of the region staff

coaches.

The theme for Region Trials focused on two different areas: For the oldest teams, R3 turned its

attention to the final third and creating penetrating runs from the midfield. However, our

younger teams – who are just entering the system – focused on building out of the back. Both

of these themes were underlined by the importance of the ten principles of possession, which

we work to teach our teams during our training phases leading up to region trials.

The photo shows the 2003 Boys that made Region Pool Matches

(Standing left to right)

Braelon Francis (Region Pool), Jackson Nabors, Kobey Stoup (Region Pool), Tahir Laury (Region Pool), Tega Ikoba (Region Pool)

Niko Bravo-Martinez (Region Pool from AL 03 2nd team)

(front row) Luke Keown (Region Pool)

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Girls College Coaches in Attendance:

Anderson Fc Dallas Liberty Tenn Tech

Auburn FGCU Louisville Tennessee

Averett Univ Francis Marion LSU Troy

Belmont Ga Southern Mercer TWO

Carson Newman Gardner Webb MSC U Of Tampa

Chowan Univ Gcu Oklahoma UNC Ashville

Colorado State High Point Univ Ole Miss UNCW

Columbus Ccew Jacksonville State Rice UNF

Columbus State

Jacksonville Sc Sam Houston State Univ. Of Montevallo

Davidson JWU-Charlotte Samford Univ Of N. Texas

Delta State Kennesaw State Scottish National Staff Univ Of Tampa

Duke King Univ SMU UT-Chattanooga

ECU Landers Southern Miss University Of Texas Rio Grande

Spring Hill Vanderbilt

Boys Camp College Coaches/Pro Scouts in Attendance:

Brevard College

FC Dallas (MLS)

Furman University

Georgia Southern University

Lander University

Mercer University

OK City University

Philadelphia Union (MLS)

Tennessee Wesleyan College

Troy University

University Of Memphis

UAB

UWA

West Texas A&M University

ASA Technical Director Zac Crawford (left) serves at the 2002 Region III ODP Assistant Coach. Part of his staff included Gary Smith, former Colorado Rapids Head Coach and 2010 MLS Cup Winner.

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Alabama’s Success:

The efforts of everyone in the state are at the foundation for why Alabama’s players have been

successful at region trials these past several years. A visible shift is occurring in Alabama

youth soccer that is growing the game and re-focusing the attention from wins-and-losses to

pushing our players to be better. Alabama has been a small bubble in the world of youth

soccer, but with the efforts of our clubs’ DOCs, technical directors, executive directors, boards,

parents, and players, heads are starting to turn. Detailed reports of this success can be found

on the ODP news page.

Top Photo- 2000, 2001, & 2002 Boys State Teams

Top Right Photo- 2000 Boys Region Pool Holdovers Clay Holstad, David “Boo Rice”, Selim Tunagur

Middle right photo- 2000 Girls Region Pool and LSU commit Maddison “Goose” Martin

Bottom Photo- Haley Duca, 2003 Girls Region Pool Player

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Alabama Soccer Association’s Growth

Over the last two years, Alabama Soccer Association has led the entire country in regards to

percentage of increase in player registration prior to the total year. Alabama grew from around

11,000 players in 2013-2014, to over 17,000 players in 2014-2015 showing a 143% increase.

This past year, Alabama grew to over 23,000 players (which is a 136% increase). For many

years, Alabama has been the smallest state out of all 12 associations in regards to player

registration in Region III. This improvement is important for many reasons including the

continued growth of the brand of the Alabama Soccer Association and the support from

member clubs. Another important reason for this growth is to show that while we are still

growing, we know that there are many other players that are participating with other non-USYS

associations and we would like to see join the ASA Family. Finally, it’s also vital to show that

while Alabama has been steadily increasing, we are still a small fish in comparison to giants

such as Florida, North and South Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina. Even Tennessee has

almost twice as many registered players as Alabama.

State Association

2015-2016 Player Registrations

2014-2015 Player Registrations

% to Total Prior Year

Alabama 23,217 17,082 136%

Arkansas 13,510 18,183 74%

Florida 113,892 110,460 103%

Georgia 86,461 88,796 97%

Louisiana 34,360 32,073 107%

Mississippi 21,868 20,283 108%

North Texas 138,284 137,778 100%

North Carolina 78,478 76,541 103%

Oklahoma 27,000 38,855 69%

South Texas 92,663 102,297 91%

South Carolina 26,774 21,467 125%

Tennessee 44,792 44,621 100%

Region III Total 701,299 708,436 98.99%

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Rankings for 2016 Region Trials:

BOYS 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

AL 6 7 1 10 6

ARK 3 0 1 1 0

FL 11 9 16 19 22

GA 12 6 13 7 24

LA 3 4 8 4 6

MS 3 2 1 1 4

NC 6 4 2 8 13

NTX 2 3 2 4 8

OK 0 2 1 1 2

SC 7 8 8 9 5

STX 10 9 8 4 16

TN 5 6 2 6 10

Boys Total Rank

FL 77 1

GA 62 2

STX 47 3

SC 37 4

NC 33 5

AL 30 6

TN 29 7

LA 25 8

NTX 19 9

MS 11 10

OK 6 11

AR 5 12

1999 Boys State

Team placed 12

different players

into Region Pool

Matches. Six

players were

selected for the

Region Pool.

2003 Region III Pool Player Tega Ikoba on the dribble. Tega scored 9 goals in 4 matches.

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BOYS PHOTOS

Photo on left-2001

Boys 1st team with their

region coach during

training.

Photo Below- Boys ODP 2002 2nd Team with Coach Oleg Sinelkov

Photo Below- 2004 Boys State Team with Coach Jamie Ferguson and Technical Director Zac Crawford join in with South Texas for a combined photo after a great match.

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GIRLS 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

AL 3 6 4 0 1

ARK 1 0 0 0 1

FL 9 19 14 11 21

GA 8 3 11 19 16

LA 5 3 2 0 2

MS 0 1 1 0 0

NC 0 9 10 9 9

NTX 2 1 1 1 4

OK 0 1 0 1 1

SC 2 3 2 3 3

STX 3 3 1 4 6

TN 2 3 3 0 2

GIRLS TOTAL RANK

FL 74 1

GA 57 2

NC 37 3

STX 17 4

AL 14 5

SC 13 6

LA 12 7

TN 10 8

NTX 9 9

OK 3 10

ARK 2 T-11

MS 2 T-11

Photo Above-1999 Girls ODP Region Pool Training Participants (left to right) Margeux Hunt, Ali Thomas, Britney Rankins (ODP Region Pool), and MacKenzie Nowin (ODP Region Pool & 5 year ODP participant)

Photo on right- 2003 ODP State Team member Emma Colvin looks to build out of the back against North Texas.

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Alabama Selections for 2016 Region Trials:

BOYS SELECTIONS

99 Boys: Colin Armstrong, Devin Benton, Liam Condone, Michael Green, Tomas Judd Parker,

Wessam Toutanji

00 Boys: Mason Hemstreet, Clay Holstad, David Rice, Christopher Richards, Joseph Sullivan,

Selim Tunagur, David Wrona

01 Boys: Ian Krajna

02 Boys: Issac Franklin, Patrick Guffey, Erasmo Herrera, Marshall McCraney, Jeremiah Scott,

Anthony Shaw, Ethan Souphanthong, Kenneth Toledo, Kyle Toutanji, Jackson Wrobel

03 Boys: Nicklaus Bravo-Martinez, Braelen Francis, Tega Ikoba, Luke Keown, Tahir Laury,

Kobey Stoup

10 PLAYERS SELECTED IN THE 2002 REGION POOL SETS A NEW RECORD. This includes one player from the 02B Alabama 2nd Team

Featured bottom row (left to right) Jackson Wrobel, Carlos Herrara, Issac Franklin. Top row (left to right) Tony Shaw, Kyle Toutanji, Marshal McCraney, Harrison Scott, Patrick Guffey, Ethan Soupanthong, Kenneth Toledo

Photo Above- 2000 Boys State Team after participating in a demo session for all Region Staff Coaches.

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GIRLS SELECTIONS

99 Girls: McKenzie Nowin, Brittney Rankins, Katie Thomas

00 Girls: Madison Martin, Elizabeth McClellan, Julia Pack, Hailey Whitaker, Abigail Jacobs,

Kileigh Whited

01 Girls: Hallie Meadows, Haley Shea Greene, Tara Katz, Hannah Guthrie

03 Girls: Haley Duca

Photo Below-2001 Girls Region Pool Players (left to right) Tara Katz, Hannah Guthrie,

Haley Greene, Hallie Meadows

Photo Below- 2000 Girls Region Pool Players (left to right) Grace McClellan, Abby Jacobs,

Julia Pack, Madison (Goose) Martin, Hailey Whittaker, Kileigh Whited

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GIRLS PHOTOS

Both 02 Girls State Teams

with coaches Emma

Greenwood, Bart Markel,

John Vincent, and Taylor

Borman.

Photo on right-

2003 2nd team with

Coach Sara

Samchok.

Photo on left-

Haleigh Holland

2002 Girls State

Pool Training

Participant

Photo on left- 2001 1st

team with Coach Kevan

Watkins.

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How Do I Get Involved as a Player?

If you are interested in participating for the upcoming year, the following birth years will be

eligible for both boys and girls 2000-2003. There is a pre-ODP program called the Elite Player

Development Program which is for 9-12 years and is used as a training/scouting system for

players born in 2004, 2005, & 2006. Interested players born between 2000-2003 should talk to

their club DOCs about whether or not ODP is a good fit for the player and vice-versa. Club

DOCs have the ability to recommend players into the State Pool Training Phase, which takes

place from September-November. Players that are not recommended or come from a club that

does not provide recommendations must attend an open tryout in September or October.

Players born in 2004 must attend an open tryout in late November. The average cost for a

year of ODP training, including the Region Trials Camp, is ~$1300. Scholarships are available

based on need and ability.

Please visit http://www.alsoccer.org/odp/ for more information visit our Facebook page to view

more photos https://www.facebook.com/alabamayouthsoccer

Photo on left- 2000 Boys Region Paper Pool Selections (left to right) Mason Hemstreet, Chris Richards, Robert Sullivan

Photo below- 2001 Girls 2nd team at halftime against Louisiana

Photo

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How Do I Get Involved as a Staff Member?

For staffing, ODP looks towards coaches that are interested in helping players develop at the

highest level. In order to become an ODP staff member, a coach must be qualified, educated,

and have a growth-mindset. Coaches with US Soccer Licenses or those in the process of

obtaining them are preferred since the Program philosophy comes from the US Soccer style

and styem.

There are varying degrees of involvement a coach can have in ODP: head coach, state staff,

junior staff, adjunct staff, administrative, etc.

If you feel you are capable of meeting the challenge of working with the best players in

Alabama, contact either Zac Crawford or Rob Dominguez (information found on the last page).

Please visit http://www.alsoccer.org/odp/ for more information visit our Facebook page to view

more photos https://www.facebook.com/alabamayouthsoccer

Photo Above- ODP Staff Members at the girls’ regional trials in Montevallo. From left to

right: Katie Steinhert, Zac Crawford, Rozi Osman, Taylor Borman, Bart Markell, Caroline

Clark, Rob Milner, Emma Greenwood, and Kevan Watkins

Photo Below- ODP Staff at dinner during ODP Mini-Camp.

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Trials Summary Alabama has a tremendous amount of achievement for which it should be proud. From the

perspective of the author, this state has come a tremendous distance in a short period of time.

However, it’s clear that both players and staff are not comfortable with simply being outliers in

the sense of these past few years being an exception to Alabama’s “typical” performance at

region trials.

The buy-in from players, parents, and staff has been the turning point in making Alabama a

serious contender for contributing players to the R3 pool and beyond. Everyone involved is not

complacent with occasionally performing well; instead, everyone involved is focused on

creating and maintaining a new norm for Alabama as a major player in R3 and throughout the

country.

AL ODP is dedicated to creating a sustainable and consistent program that challenges,

develops, and succeeds against the top players and associations throughout the region and

country.

With that, we thank everyone involved in ODP this year – without those of you reading this, our

journey would not have been possible. For those that were successful and earned a spot in the

region pool, congratulations! For those that did not reach their goals or achieve as highly as

they had hoped, we are here to help you and work with you to reach those goals. We are

committed to help every player in the program be the very best he or she can be. We are

committed to be patient educators that inspire players to love the game as we do. We are

committed to put in the time and effort to help you achieve your soccer goals. Are you?

Rob Dominguez

Alabama Soccer Association ODP Coordinator

July 28, 2016

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Thanks to Dr. George Brown, Ph.D

For over fifteen years, Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama have hosted the entire boys’

side of R3 for trials. Integral to the success and enjoyment of the program has been Dr. George

Brown, who has recently retired from his position from UA as the Director of Recreation and will

be taking a similar position at the University of Minnesota.

We want to wish a sincere thank you and Roll Tide to George for his inspiration and leadership

during over the years and the best of luck in his future endeavors.

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Congratulations to Brandon Servania Last year, former Alabama ODP player Brandon Servania joined FC Dallas’s residential

academy. In the fall of 2015, he joined the ranks of the U18 YNT. We are very proud of

Brandon and his accomplishments and look forward to continue watching his success and

development on and off the field. Brandon also recently received a full-scholarship to Wake

Forest.

Below are several pictures of Brandon including the U16 US Soccer Development Academy

National Championship.

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Contact Information

Zac Crawford

State Technical Director

Tel 205-991-9779

zac@alsoccer.org

Rob Dominguez

ODP Program Coordinator

Tel 205-616-0829

rob@alsoccer.org

Organization Information Alabama Soccer Association

4678 Valleydale Rd # 200, Birmingham, AL 35242

Tel (205) 991-9779

www.alsoccer.org