Youth
www.SanTanSun.com
June 7 – 20, 2014
Soccer team building its own ‘Legacy’
SAT, ACT practice tests offered
BY TIM J. RANDALL
The grandeur of soccer’s greatest stage, the FIFA World Cup, will unfold beginning June 12 in Brazil. Leading their country’s charge to victory will see the predominant names in the sport: Jozy Altidore of the United States, the singular-named Neymar of Brazil, Lionel Messi from Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal. Closer to home, the 12-year-old Boys Legacy team (02-Red) of the San Tan Soccer Club will be gaming for a victory at the U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regionals in Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 16-22. The team’s berth in the regional matches was earned by securing the soccer club’s first boys Legacy victory in the State Cup Championship on May 11. The State Cup Championship is the culminating tournament of the Arizona Youth Soccer Association, and a member of the national U.S. Youth Soccer. Sixteen teams arrive through qualification over the previous months as rival clubs compete in club and league play. “There are dozens and dozens of clubs in the metro, and over 30,000 youth players statewide,” according to Coach Patrick Jackson. A win in Albuquerque would crown the team national champions of U.S. Youth Soccer in the 12-year-old bracket. The players who may pull off this feat are: Captains Pedro Mondragon and Max Lipman, as well as Brennan Klein, Parker Lischwe, Nick McElenney, Michael Frees, Charlie Nunez, Andy Barrientos, Seamus
PREPARING FOR PLAY: The 12-year-old Boys Legacy team (02-Red) of the San Tan Soccer Club readies for the regionals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. STSN photo by Ron Lang
PEP TALK: Coach Patrick Jackson gives a motivational speech to his players during a recent practice. STSN photo by Ron Lang
McCarthy, T.J. Palacio, Trevor Dean, Michael Brueser, Crew Marin, Dominick Lopez, Mason Messenger and Hayden Jaramillo. Jackson is joined by Assistant Coach Scott Moyer.
Historic win Jackson and fellow coach Brandon Frees identify the win in the state cup finals as not only historic, given its
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ascendant nature, but also triumphant as it exemplified its spirit and values. “We have had boys teams reach the state finals, but never win,” Jackson says. “What these boys achieved in victory demonstrated their desire and ability to overcome a great deal of adversity.” In the week leading up to the first game, Legacy 02-Red lost two of their key players to injury. The travails continued with a leg injury to another key starter in the opening round. “We almost did not make it out of our pool play, to even have a chance at the title, if it were not for a remarkable tie in game one, and a stellar comeback win in the final minutes of game three by our players,” says Jackson. SEE LEGACY PAGE 34
SanTan Sun News-area high school juniors and seniors are invited to take a free SAT or ACT practice test Saturday, June 14, at Tutor House Tutoring Services, 100 W. Boston St., Suite 4, Chandler. Testing is held from 9:15 a.m. to 1 p.m., preceded by a welcome and registration from 9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Students should bring a calculator to the session. Test results and analysis are given at a separately scheduled conference. The free practice test is offered in addition to Tutor House’s regular SAT and ACT prep programs, as well as a wide range of one-on-one and small group tutoring for students in grades K through 12. Sign up at www.TutorHouseAZ. com, or learn more by calling (480) 857-1222 or emailing Tutoring@ TutorHouseAZ.com.