Getting caught up

Sorry folks - we haven't caught up in a while.   The lingering effects from having gotten knocked out of the FWR in Boise, Idaho, along with the un-gloomy "June Gloom" that we are having (I write this as my scalp gets a nice red lobsterish sun burn on the balcony of my tiny little abode), has kept me/us from our updating.  So what's happened you ask?  Well for starters, the GU15 White's run at a National Championship was derailed by a very determined Slammers FC team in the semifinals of the Region IV tournament.  The US Men were given a nice lesson in soccer from our friends south of the border in the Gold Cup final in Pasadena.  The US U17 Men, were finishing in 2nd place at the U17 World Cup in Mexico, behind....you guessed correctly: Uzbekistan!  Finally, the US Women, got off to a winning start in Germany at the Women's World Cup vs a slightly secretive North Korean squad.  Today, if you are couch potato, the US U17's are on ESPNU at 1:00pm, taking on group winner Germany, who have steam rolled everyone so far in getting to the round of 16.  Wilmer Cabrera's young men will need to get everything right if they are going to knock off the German giants today.

Back to Boise for a minute.  What an amazing run this really was.  This team had numerous reasons to think that they didn't belong.  They were never considered a favorite to get out of their group at Cal south National cup (that would have been Albion).  They knocked off favorites like: Surf White, Arsenal, and Eagles.  The team had players getting "emergency surgeries" a week before the Regionals (the "Official" reason given was appendicitis, but word on the street was Janae getting bionic lungs for the altitude in Idaho....); while another having to leave the country for family reasons...  This team was the under-dog wherever it went.  Well folks, that label is now OTW - out the window.  Foothill MVLA knows who they are.  Oregon Rush knows who they are (both will be group opponents once again at Surf Cup), and the teams in Southern Cal know who they are.  Well done ladies - you represented The Beach!  Get ready to play as a favorite from here on out!

Besides the GU15's, who have gotten so much attention lately, we need to recognize others who have put the club on the So Cal and National soccer map.  First there was Rich Perez's GU10's winning Beach FC's 1st State Cup title.  And this wasn't the 2nd flight Governor's Division - this was the TOP flight President's Division!  Then there was Danny Pena's BU13's who went to the Q-finals at the most prestigious youth boys tournament in the country - the Dallas Cup, losing to the eventual champions.  Finally, we need to recognize all of the young women earning college scholarships for the 2011 and 2012 graduating classes.  These are the 1st graduating classes from Beach, with many more to come in the future.  Our coaching staff has done such a phenomenal job in such a short time.

The Beach FC Pioneers:

GU10 Beach FC Cal South State Champions

BU13 Dallas Cup Quarterfinalists

GU15 White USYS Far West Regional Semifinalists