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Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Steve Cameron: Soccer flourishing here in the states

Can you guess what's surprised me the most while covering sports in the Central Valley?

Truthfully, nothing else is even close.

Right from the beginning, I've been absolutely, totally stunned at the quality of prep soccer throughout this area.

Remember, I arrived here in 2006 from Scotland -- a country where soccer (what they call "football") is pretty much the national religion.

I'd already become a diehard fan of the "World's Game" at its highest levels, following the English Premier League, international tournaments and all the rest.

And I was realistic about soccer's place in American sporting culture.

Footy is growing, no question, but it's never going to become an all-consuming obsession -- which is the constant state of affairs in so many parts of the globe.

When I went out to see my first local prep match -- Atwater against Golden Valley -- I'll admit flat-out that I expected to watch hard-working, extra-effort kids playing in front of maybe two dozen friends and family.

And doing so with more gusto than skill, more enthusiasm than technique.

I was prepared to shake my head sadly and say something like, "Can't these kids even curl a shot?"

Tsk, tsk.

So I was in for a shock.

Frankly, I thought it impossible that the game -- particularly its difficult skills and chess-match strategy -- could have improved too much from some youth matches I'd endured just a few years earlier.

But I was wrong.

In fact, I was dumbfounded. These guys were REALLY playing the game.

I wondered if I were mistaken, if my expectations had been so low that simple passes, a few decent headed crosses and some routine midfield plays were fooling me into thinking this was the real deal.

No, I wasn't.

Atwater won that one 1-0 (or "One-nil," as they'd say in Britain) on a brilliant cross-field, diagonal pass that set up Julian Horta for a clever conversion after a ghosting run to the back post.

Classic stuff.

I was further stunned afterward, when both coaches complained that their guys hadn't played particularly well, that they'd suffered too many dull stretches to make the game as dynamic as it was important to the CCC title race.

Huh?

Well, just four seasons down the road, nobody's surprised anymore. Certainly not me.

Merced stormed to the Sac-Joaquin Section title a year ago -- becoming the first school in the county to win the large-school championship -- and Golden Valley doggone near repeated the act this time around.

Don't be fooled at that 3-0 score line by which GV fell to perennial national powerhouse Jesuit in the section final. Golden Valley came inches away from goals that could have tied things 2-2 before Jesuit added a meaningless score just moments from the final whistle.

Trust me: These kids can play!

When I went back to Britain for a good chunk of this past year, I made it point to go watch high school teams over there.

And remember that, unlike in America, virtually all youngsters in England and Scotland are born dreaming of soccer pitches and begin "skills work" shortly after they finished potty training.

I spent two straight afternoons watching Buckie High in northern Scotland -- a school pretty much the size you'd find in the CCC. Watched two long practices and a full-bore, all-out scrimmage.

There were some nice plays, and the kids were tough. They flew into full-blooded challenges and ignored some raw wind and rain to execute technique on and off the ball.

One thing negating the weather factor, to be fair, was a gleaming artificial surface -- their practice pitch! -- that looked like it was swept, vacuumed and groomed every hour.

Now having said all that, after maybe four hours of watching these Scottish kids go at it, I thought...

I don't see THAT much difference.

And I walked away thinking that Merced or Golden Valley or Atwater or Buhach could make that 7,000-mile trip, lace 'em up and get it on.

It would be good, tight football.

Sorry, "soccer."

And that's how far the game has come in the States -- and specifically right here at home. Fantastic.

Steve Cameron is a freelance columnist for the Sun-Star. He can be reached at stevecameron1000@gmail.com.