Garney Valley youth help Spirit United U12 Sol win championship

On Nov. 19, the Spirit United Soccer Club U12 “Sol” finished the 2011 Fall season as Delco Soccer League Division 1 Champions.

Garnet Valley boys on the team include Nate Antignani and Kenan Wursthorn. This tremendous achievement capped off a phenomenal year for the Sol which started in the spring winning the Jefferson Cup in Virginia, a top ranked national tournament.

More success followed as the team won the Eastern Pennsylvania Turkey Hill Challenge Cup (state champions) and were finalists in the highly ranked FC Delco Players Cup in May. In the midst of all this, the team expanded from 8-on-8 to 11-on-11 at U12 which ultimately added six new players to the Sol’s roster.

The Sol kicked off its summer medley of tournaments as Finalists at the West Chester Summer Classic, losing only to penalty kicks. They also played their first international match at the Spirit Kick-Off Classic XXV in August. The Sol concluded the summer as Finalists at the Keystone Cup in Lancaster.

In September, the Sol began Delco Soccer league play in Division 1 by beating the PA Classics, winner of the Keystone Cup. Division 1 of the Delco Soccer League is arguably one of the most competitive soccer leagues in the nation with seven out the eleven U12 teams nationally ranked on Got Soccer’s top 25 list.

The Sol team is currently ranked by Got Soccer at #10 in the nation which is no small feat since there are over 1.5 million boys affiliated with US Youth Soccer. In fact, the Delco Soccer League has 8 Divisions, with Division 1 being the premier, sporting over 81 travel teams at the U12 boys age group alone, a testament to the love of soccer in this area.

This year, Delco Division 1 attracted teams from all over the region including Maryland and Delaware which is nothing new to the Sol who compete with teams as far away as Canada and Ohio as well as those closer to home such as New York, New Jersey and Virginia.

In the Delco regular season, the Sol team went 7-1-2 which earned them a coveted second place seed in the Delco Playoffs. The Sol’s first playoff game was against Fewster, ranked #1 in the nation, who the Sol beat for the 2nd time in 7 days. This key playoff win led the Sol to the Finals game against the West Chester United Predators who always offer tough competition.

The Sol was up 1-0 early in the 1st half when forward, Kenan Wursthorn, scored a 2nd goal from about 15 yards. Speaking of his goal, Kenan said, “My teammate passed me the ball. I saw an opening through the defense to the left corner of the net, and I just let it rip. I knew the goal keeper could not reach the ball and it was going in.”

With a solid performance in the midfield by Nate Antignani, the Sol finished 3-1 at the end of the championship match. Coach Ciaran Barrett remarked that it was the total effort that each member of team put forward all season that resulted in the Sol being named the 2011 Delco U12 Division 1 Champions.

This Spirit United team is not your typical community travel team; based in Downingtown, its success has drawn boys from all over Eastern Pennsylvania including Garnet Valley and as far away as Hamburg, PA. In fact, most of the team travels well over 45 minutes, each way, to attend training. The boys and their families are dedicated to the development of their soccer skills.

All members of the team are active in one or more elite soccer organizations which provide high level instruction to supplement team training. These groups include the Union Juniors, Olympic Development Program (ODP) and Fusion Futures. In most cases, the aspiring soccer player must be invited just to tryout and the competition for limited spots is fierce.

The Sol team is well known in coaching circles, and often the Sol team is requested as a “demonstration” team for coaching training and licensing. In addition, many of the Sol boys opt to attend one or more summer camps during the team break in June which provide for all day soccer training from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

While the team does require the full commitment of its players and parents, the team has time for fun, as well, whether that be a team bowling party, goofing off with Nerf soccer balls between tournament games or their annual holiday party.

The success of the Spirit United U12 Boys Sol soccer team can be attributed to Coach Ciaran Barrett’s hard work, perseverance, learning, sacrifice, and love for the players and for the game of soccer.

Coach Barrett, a former local player as well as collegiate athlete and professional player, understands what is required to succeed in this growing sport. He is praised by the Sol parents for his dedication, commitment, knowledge, and enthusiasm. Most notably, his demeanor and actions set a positive example that the boys can admire.

To promote mental and emotional self growth, Barrett provided each player their own journal to write in each week. The boys record their thoughts about training, games, or other areas of their life that affect them as soccer players.

Also, Barrett provides detailed game reports with individual player and team feedback stating areas of strength and areas for improvement. These game reports are a valuable tool in helping to develop the players and team. It is evident that Ciaran has far exceeded his responsibility as coach to impact, teach and guide the team.

With 2011 coming to a close, the team will continue training on a weekly basis and ramp back up in the Spring in preparation for their next big challenge – the EPYSA State Cup to defend their status as state champions!

The Spirit United U12 Sol, seen above, are Nate Antignani, Phillip Bell, Tripp Davis, Alieu Kenneh, Alex Khaldaoui, Colin Marshall, Kevin McFarland, Ben Myers, Arun Sankar, Carter Stuck, Alex Tullman, Ryan Wallace, Cole Wellington, Nick White, and Kenan Wursthorn.