Boys soccer: Dottore's top 11 players of the month
December 30th, 2008, 4:16 pm · 21 Comments · posted by Damian Dottore, OCVarsity
I have read countless posts on this blog about how the only real soccer is being played in academy soccer, and the boys who aren't serious about the game are stuck playing in high school.
Saddleback's David Zepeda
Well, those kinds of comments undercut everything that these players, who are loyal to their schools, have been doing this month.
True there are gifted players in academy soccer, but there is a lot of talent left on the high school field as well.
I covered the sport when kids such as Danny Califf and Tomas Serna were on the field, and I have seen some kids this year who would have been able to keep up with them.
(Which brings up something else. Califf always seemed to make some time for his high school team before heading off to play in Egypt or some other exotic place.)
Playing high school sports just seems to make the four years you spend in a school mean a bit more. OK, that's my two cents worth, now onto what this post is really about.
The top 11 players in December that I HAVE SEEN (notice those words that are capitalized. I haven't seen La Habra, Troy or JSerra, among others).
Here is the list, and please let me know who I might have forgotten. Oh, and the list is no particular order:
1. Edward Zepeda, Saddleback
2. Duncan Capriotti, Santa Margarita
3. Chris Zamarippa, Mater Dei
4. Carlos Vasquez, Santa Ana Valley
5. David Perez, Saddleback
6. Alex Cannas, El Toro
7. Auston Smyth, Esperanza
8. Stephen Donnelly, Servite
9. Eric Brunter, Servite
10. Chris Violas, Servite
11. Juan Pablo Ocegueda, Saddleback
21 Comments
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Dear Mr Dettorre.... you bring back many memories when you mention the likes of Danny Califf. Having watched Danny play as a sweeper and lead his team to a 2-1 victory in the 1998 CIF quarter finals at Orange High School, you bring back some great memories. I hear what you are saying. If people are real, most players that have gone anywhere in US soccer have enjoyed and excelled at the High School level. Unfortunately a group of people have put financial gain in front of actually developing some of the most incredibly talented players around. At a time when more and more Club and High School coaches were trying to develop some sort of harmony, the Academy has not only disrupted that, but is taking what could be some incredible memories away from many young players. To say that all the best players in Southern California are playing "Academy" is a joke. Yes there are many incredible players who are in the Academy, but there are quite a few playing Academy that are less talented then many who play High School. They pay and play Academy because they are deluded into believing that it will lead to a scholarship. In several years when they have missed out on the excitement and memories of being a High School player, they are not playing in College, and have spent many thousand of dollars, who will be there to replace the experiences they have missed?. While the Academy will help many, it will also leave many behind. Only the next several years will tell the truth. The reality is that Club, High School, Academy and anyone who has positively effected these players are responsible for developing the stars of tomorrow. ODP was actually a better attempt to fix soccer development in the US. If we are going to bring soccer to new heights in the US, should it not be a system that selects the best players rather then the all inclusive team. If we are real, shouldnt we be giving all the best players the best coaching so that we have the best player pool we can develop. My point being, you are right Mr Dettore, all the best players are not in Academy. Until we(USA) fix the system, we will not maximize our player output. Of course Club and Academy are important, but are you telling me that there are not many High School coaches that place players in College irrespective of what is happening on their club team??? So lets just ask the question then, Would many Academy teams not benefit from the players that you listed? Your two cents is well received by this reader. There are many that you list who may find their way to a top level experiences and it wont be because of the Academy, but it will be in the foot steps of many before them who made it and who still had a High school memory to look back on. If you think about it, many College and Professional players still look back to playing for their High School as one of the most memorable experiences of their life. I know this as a fact. Mr Detorre, thanks for making a point that needs to be made. In closing, if the Academy does not sell its self, how will it survive? Its just sad that some players will be no better off then if we had found a way to work around the High School season and give them the memories!
Justin Lannon-Trabuco Hills Joalkeeper
Garrett Bradbury - Servite, mind you he suffered a broken back last season and is scoring goals left and right including two in the first 10 minutes of the Northwood game
Hmm Violas? How so? The kid can't even stay on one club team for a whole year, plus how many games has he played this year, let alone december? Crazy? So which Servite coach/alumni is paying ocvarsity's bar tab? Hahahaha, Oh and one kid from El Toro and one kid from Esperanza? Esperanza alone has 6 CSL Premier players on their roster, sounds fishy eh? I know every other high school soccer player who is of higher quality than those servite players ( But in respect, the only friar that should be up there is Stephen Donnelly, I think we can all agree), are furious and confused on how that school is still getting recognition, especially after the zero Cif championship wins Servite has. Wait, when was the last time they even made it to a final?!? Oh ya, never.
how about leading goal scorer ernesto hinojosa from tustin high?
Not an idiot: You need to figure in how the three Servite players on shut out all six of those CSL players, the score was 3-0. Does that sound fishy? Also, Servite soccer has always been a force to recon with despite it's lack of final games, you sound like a Notre Dame football fan living in the past. Get with the program, with a healthy team Servite has gone 18/3 (goals/goals allowed) in this preseason, it just might be time that you took the foot out of your mouth.
Ya gotta love it.
Some glimpses of scorched earth in the form of Chelsea/JUSA/Servite.
Again - all Academy posers.
And 18/3? HAHAHAHA You might wanna re-check that. Jserra beat you 3-0 whil Edison put two goals against as well as Long beach wilson and upland. Hahahahaha Servitehooligan, you are very naive.
Can;t wait to see another year where Servite chokes big time like every year
Pundit and Idiot-
You two are match made in heaven. Idiot wondered why other top-notch players weren't on the list. Since reading comprehension isn't your strong suit allow me to help you out. Mr. Dottore wrote the following in the original article: "The top 11 players in December that I HAVE SEEN (notice those words that are capitalized. I haven’t seen La Habra, Troy or JSerra, among others). Here is the list, and please let me know who I might have forgotten. Oh, and the list is no particular order:"
It was clear that he hadn't seen all of the top players as of yet. Further it was clear that he was trying to stimulate discussion of players who are excelling this season. He was fishing for positive commentary of high school play. It wasn't an invitation to haters to pile on with a bunch of negative crap calling out 17 year old kids in a public forum.
Why don't you two make a date to meet and talk about the glory days of Academy play and leave the high school play to those of us who enjoy watching our kids play. You'll be better off, and so will we.
Agreeing with FreeKick, you need to check your reading comprehension: "with a healthy team Servite has gone 18/3 (goals/goals allowed) in this preseason" the healthy team part is what you were missing.
Dear Sue,
Justin Lannon from Trabuco Hills is a decent keeper, but looses his head too much, not to mention a red card for very dangerous play 15 yards outside his own penalty box against Esperanza. He did do well in his last tournament, and trabuco hills is a team to be watched as well.
To Not An Idiot,
Justin Lannan only a decent keeper??? Have you seen him play? Red card yes. This is soccer not two square!!! Lannan is going to get the job done regardless of him being a target for the opposing team. He is an INCREDIBLE goalie.
Joalkeeper?
That a new position specific to high school soccer?
That list is OK, but you can find weekly updates on boys' players every week on Orange County Soccer News (www.ocsoccernews.com).
Yes I have played against him and (not be far-fetched) he has shown no sign of being of the quality you are saying. I mean I hope when I am older and have children so I can go on OCvarsity.com and tell the interweb how great my son Johnny is, but in all honesty, he is good, but not a number 1 goalkeeper, he would (at most) make top ten for goalkeepers.
Luis Morales- Jserra
Juan Gutierrez- Jserra
Sean Hudnall- Jserra
Lucas Dall Orso- Jserra
These players are definetely some of the best Jserra Players. I hope you can get a closer look at Jserra.
k15- I couldn't agree with you more, I play on West Coast with those boys (Sean and Luis) while the other two play on the u16's and all of them should be recognized, I hope Mr. Dottore gets a chance or two to watch them play.
hey i am there....
I am quite baffled by this list. I understand that you haven't seen everyone, but you don't have to see DERSU ABOLFATHI to put him on this list. DERSU committed to Stanford on a full ride his junior year. Dersu is the top-ranked player in ALL of Southern California and THIRD in the nation. He played for the national team and before the high school season he played for the LA Galaxy youth team. He now plays for University High School's team. Hopefully this mistake isn't made again.
And I believe the only OC high school player on this list:
http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/soccer/news/story?id=3776407
Dersu sounds like he has a lot of accolades but has he produced anything this high school season? A player like this seems like he should make his team better. Is this the case? Plus, in Damien defense he clearly states in CAPS AND BOLD that those are the top players he has seen