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ARCHIVES

A Premier recruiting tool on the Coast

By Dan Watson/Assistant Sports Editor

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St. Joseph High graduate Andrea Zimkowski celebrates with a teammate after scoring against Cabrillo High. Zimkowski is just one of the many Madrid Premier graduates to continue playing soccer at the college level. //File photo

The Madrid Premier Soccer Club is taking things to the next level.

By doing so, it’s hoping to do the same for its graduates.

The Central Coast youth soccer club, with its roots in the Santa Ynez Valley, has seen substantial growth since its humble beginnings in 1999.

For those really wanting to take their soccer skills to the next level, the club does just that — offering competitive traveling soccer teams for 9- to 18-year-olds. Last year, 14 teams competed under the Madrid program.

Now, the group is developing its college liaison program.

Director of Coaching Rob Cantrell, who is also the Santa Ynez High girls soccer coach, said 50 percent of the program’s graduating players have been approached by college soccer programs.

“But we have more players who turn down opportunities,” he added. “Maybe because they go to pre-med or nursing school, or some higher-level degree program. They don’t have time for soccer. So several athletes have the opportunity to say ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’ Our main focus is player development. The whole player, the athlete and the student.”

For those that do want to take their soccer, or another sport, to the college level, Madrid Premier offers “College Nights”.

A recent meeting, open to the public, was well-received. More than 100 people attended in Pismo Beach, according to Cantrell.

The program has slated another “College Night” for Jan. 26 in the Santa Ynez Valley.

“Getting kids seen and potentially recruited for college, that’s where we’re building right now,” Cantrell said. “We’re launching some major campaigns.”

The meetings are open to all parents and kids, and is not geared just to soccer.

“For basketball and baseball, there are subtle differences as opposed to soccer, and we point those out,” Cantrell said.

At the last College Night, Cal Poly women’s soccer coach Alex Crozier, Westmont College men’s soccer coach Dave Wolf and CSU San Bernardino women’s soccer coach Travis Clarke all attended.

“We bring in college coaches that serve on a panel and give a presentation,” Cantrell said. “The presentation is on NCAA requirements for students. There’s a certain benchmark from a freshman in high school to a senior in high school.”

Cantrell emphasizes the need for such a program, especially on the Central Coast.

“We’re isolated here,” he said. “A lot of kids don’t have parents that know what to do, and they’re not looking until it is too late.”

The Madrid program is “icing on top of the cake in terms of what Madrid as a sports organization is doing.”

College Liaison Glen Fens, a former Cal Poly men’s soccer assistant coach, provides plenty of insight.

“Any Division I or II coach, you name a school, he knows the recruiting people,” Cantrell said. “If we feel a player is good enough, his job is to be an intermediary.”

Currently, Madrid Premier has a number of players set to play at the next level. They include Shannon Fonts and Alessa Moscoso (MIT) of San Luis Obispo High and Kayla Beblauw (Westmont) of Arroyo Grande.

Madrid Premier alumni include St. Joseph High graduate Andrea Zimkowski (Cal Poly) and Santa Ynez High grad Marissa McCandlish (Hawaii).

And then there’s the actual playing soccer.

Madrid Premier is a year-round program. The league seasons run from September to the middle of November.

The club is comprised of both boys and girls teams, with players from throughout Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties.

The teams compete in the Coast Soccer League and Central Coast Soccer League, as well as top-level tournaments nation-wide.

Madrid Premier also offers a soccer training academy, open to all athletes on the coast. Madrid Academy will be offered at the end of January in Santa Maria.