Nice story, has this team been together for a while?
It's a made for TV story. The team has been together for only 3 years. A few years back when Pats PYL just started, they needed teams for the new chapter. One of the coaches knew of a bunch of middle school kids from Anaheim that never played club soccer but were always playing the Hispanic leagues since they were little. Pats offferd them a great discount to bring them over.
They came with a lot of raw talent and some bad habits (not passing, dribbling too much). During the First year with no scrimmages, they finished 3rd as a flight 2 team.
Then things unraveled and the new coach didn't inspire these kids. The coach quit just 30 days before the 2017 season started. The new coach (coach Carlos) had 3 weeks to recruit them all back and offer a price that would meet their financial needs and also enough to pay the club taxes.
First game of the 2017 season we only had 9 players starting and we ended up winning 1-0. There's some great stories such as one of the players running 5 miles before a game because he didn't have a ride. Another kid didn't want to go to church so his mom said that he couldn't play an important game. Another kid had to work at the swap meet on Sundays because his mother was very sick.
11 of the 17 kids come from a very poor and tough environment. Their parents are always working so we don't have large crowds. The othe parents are constantly helping with rides and financing uniforms or tourney fees.
We've only played 3 tournaments outside of state cup. Finished 1st, 2nd and lost to a premier team 2-1 with 2 red cards on our side.
This is my son's last year and even though he is a bench player these kids have been good to him. He is learning a lot and appreciating life.
I would hope that college coaches give these kids a chance and hope they get discovered. Great kids that are just getting better.