TSS Elite Girls University Bound
May 22, 2013
As the second year of the TSS Elite program came to a close in April, players from the U19 Elite girls have now finalized their plans for university. In keeping with last year's success, every U19 player looking to play varsity soccer was offered spots on university and college teams. 14 players in total.
"We're very pleased for these players," says head coach and TSS Girls Program Director, Brendan Quarry. "This group of players went through their fair share of adversity as they adapted to the women's game as well as our academy's style of play. In the end, they grew as players and managed to secure spots at a variety of schools."
Last year saw similar success with every grade 12 player securing places on varsity teams. Many TSS graduates made an impact in 2013 with Katie Bishop selected to Ontario West Division All Stars, Jessie DeBoer selected to Ontario East Division All Stars, and Zoe Fasoulakis selected to Quebec All Stars.
For the first time, TSS will have players heading to the east coast to ply their soccer skills. Jessie Blanchard of North Vancouver will be playing for the Dalhousie University Tigers in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Morgan King of South Surrey will be close by as she suits up for the University of Acadia Axewomen in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Nicola Small of North Vancouver will be joining the University of New Brunswick Reds in Fredericton.
Other players leaving the province include Brenda Murillo of Richmond who will be playing for the University of Toronto Blues and Alex Fiorvento of North Vancouver who will be heading to the Southern US to play for Louisiana Tech.
"We're excited to have recruited Alex into our program, " says Louisiana Tech assistant coach, Josh Wagenaar. "I've been monitoring players from the TSS Elite program for a few years now. Their program stresses technical excellence and possessional play which fits well with what we're trying to achieve at Louisiana Tech. Alex is someone we feel will make an impact immediately because of that background."
A number of players are remaining in the province to play for BC universities and colleges. Maddie Higginbotham of Langley BC will be staying close to home as she prepares to join the 2012 National Champs Trinity Western. Desiree Caruso of Surrey will be joining the University of the Fraser Valley, Devon Kollmyer of Lyndon, Washington will be playing for Simon Fraser University, and Austin Studer of North Vancouver will be playing in goal for the University of Victoria. Megan Baird of Surrey will be travelling to the interior to play for Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops and Alyssa Graeme of Richmond will be playing for Langara College. Quest University, a private university in Squamish, BC, will add to their current roster of TSS recruits by bringing in Niki Glavina of Richmond and Paige Ayers of South Surrey. Paige was the captain of the U19 Elite team this season as she took a year off school and mentored the 95 born players.
"It will be sad to see Paige leave our program," says Quarry. "Paige attended TSS for a number of years when she was young and then returned at U18 to join the elite program for 2 years. She has been an invaluable asset, one of the most talented players to come out of our program."
Quest University recruited another talented player in Ashley Chen of Richmond. Unfortunately Ashley has recently taken ill. Quest coaching staff, however, are confident that Ashley will be able to join the program once she recovers. Thoughts and best wishes are with Ashley as she battles a serious illness.
The majority of these players will continue playing for TSS throughout the summer in the PCSL Premier division. They will be joined by returning TSS alumni currently playing university level soccer.The TSS Elite Development Program is a full-time 11-month program for top level youth players. The purpose of the program is to provide a positive and challenging learning environment for a select number of players who are looking to advance to the adult/university level. Players are often selected in December of their grade 9 year where they train and play for the elite reserve team until they reach grade 11-12.
Elite Program Kicks Off Fall Season
September 13, 2012
All 3 of TSS Academy's Elite teams began their fall/winter season last weekend. The teams are now in phase 2 of their full-time 11-month program.
The U19 Elite girls team started their campaign in the MWSL women's premier league last Sunday. TSS was defeated 2-0 by Langley Action United, a team that's comprised of many existing Trinity Western University players. Langley went up by 2 goals in the first half as TSS had difficulty keeping the ball. The second half saw a revitalized TSS team as they outplayed Langley for much of the half but could not capitalize on their opportunities. TSS Academy's Maddie Higginbotham made a big impact in an unfamiliar center back role. Higginbotham has already secured a spot at Trinity Western University for next year and she made a clear statement as to why that's the case.
The U17 Elite girls team saw their first action in the MWSL U21 league. After absorbing a good deal of pressure from WCAGFC Shock in the first 10-15 minutes, TSS soon took over with their clinical passing and finished the game with a 4-1 victory. Britnney Zacharuk made a real impression at center back, cleaning up at the back and distributing the ball very well.
"It was a strong outing for both our elite girls teams," said TSS Girls Director Brendan Quarry. "It was encouraging to see both teams sticking to the academy's style of play even when things were difficult."
The U18 Elite boys played their first match in the VMSL U21 League. The group was very competitive in an evenly matched 3-1 loss to Vancouver Rino. “Our boys are technically capable of competing at this level, but they have to adjust to the physical abilities of the older players” said TSS Boys Director Rob Dattilo. TSS showed an increasing quality in attack, and were nearly rewarded when Kyran James struck the crossbar in the 85th minute. “Kyran had been cut over they eye early in the game, but he demanded that we bandage him up and get him back on" continued Dattilo. "He showed great spirit and determination late in the game, and his strike would have levelled the score line.” The boys next game is on Friday evening against a strong West Vancouver side.
The TSS Elite program is a full-time program for advanced youth players that runs for 11 months. Selected players train with TSS Academy 2-3 times a week and compete in adult leagues such as the Pacific Coast League (PCSL), the Metro Women's Soccer League (MWSL), and the Vancouver Metro Soccer League (VMSL). Players are generally selected in December each year with the program commencing the following April. In December 2012, the U19 Elite girls program will be selecting primarily 1996 born players, the U17 Elite girls will be selecting 98s and 97s, and the U18 Elite boys will be selecting 96s.
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