Soccer Part 2: Transition from Rec to Club Soccer and ODP

When I moved to Utah, my parents had decided that I needed to go to the next level if I were to get serious about soccer. That's when they signed me up for Park City Soccer Club and I was ecstatic. When I first joined the team, I knew things would be different. From the first practice, I realized that the difference between recreational soccer and club soccer was monumental. Don't get me wrong, Southern California is one of the best areas for soccer development in the country, so I grew up around basically the same standard, but in general recreational soccer around the country is nowhere close to its club soccer counterpart. I sensed the difference in skill and knowledge for the game automatically. As I examined my new teammates, I was troubled. I had always been the best on all of my previous teams, and now, things were quite the opposite. Although club soccer was hard for me to adjust to, I ended up loving the new experience.

 The club I currently play for. Image courtesy of Park City Extreme Cup

 

I have been playing with Park City Soccer Club for three years now, which translates to five seasons. I began my journey with this club, excited, yet nervous at the same. I was eager to experience club soccer for the first time, but I was scared about the transition from rec to club. Nevertheless, I decided to do everything in my power to play to the very best of my ability. My first two seasons with the club were slow. I played left wing for the majority of these seasons, scoring a couple of goals throughout those games. Although at left wing I wasn't at my best, I was noticed by John Cairel, who was the coach for the older team. I had the honor of playing with the team older than me, as well as the team for my age group. I believe this helped develop my game even further. Towards the end of our third season, we hadn't done very well in the league for the third year in a row. The club decided we needed a new coach. That's when things changed for the better for our team. My dad, who had previously been involved with the club for a short period of time, filled in as our team's head coach. His presence made an instant impact within our team. He filled in as coach for our last five games, where we won four of them, and lost our last game 3-2 against the number one team in the league. The next season, with the addition of some new players, my dad took us to promotion from Division 3, to Division 2. Within that season I played left wing, but my dad allowed me to try central midfield which I felt I did well at. We also have a very impressive habit of at least making it to the finals of every tournament my dad has coached us under. We won second at a Premier tournament in Las Vegas, and have won every other tournament we have participated in. This season I have been playing central midfield. During this season, we were doing amazing and were heading for promotion. However, we lost our most recent game, basically putting us out of the race for promotion. Even though we didn't get promoted, I believe we'll come back even stronger next year.

An older Cameron killing it on the pitch

Another amazing experience I have had with soccer since my move to Utah, has been the Olympic Development Program, also known as ODP. ODP is when the best players in the state come together to form a team, and participate in a prestigious tournament against other regions in the country. I had never experienced anything like this in California, so I was extremely excited. My friend Forrest and I tried out for the team together, and we both agreed that the standard of play was super high and extremely fun. After the first three tryouts, we learned that we had made the first cut known as the player pool, which consisted of forty players who would travel to Nevada for one final tryout to see if they would make the final eighteen. Technically speaking, that put us in the top forty best players in the state for our age, which is an awesome achievement. The trip to Nevada was a weekend long and it was definitely a new experience. For the first time in my soccer career, I was treated like a professional. I was expected to be at the bus on time every day, attend team meetings, and to behave correctly off the pitch. Unfortunately, when it came to the final cut I did not make it. Forrest, however, did make the final eighteen and went on to travel with the team. What sucked even more, was that I made what was known as the "stand by" list, which means if anything happened to one of the eighteen, I would be called up to play. That sadly didn't happen. Nevertheless, I am extremely excited for ODP this year, and I hope that I can make the eighteen along with Forrest this time.

That's my soccer story for now. Bye bye.