Sixteen students currently playing club soccer with the De Anza Force Soccer Club were recruited by colleges all over the United States. The list includes six women and 10 men.
The organization was described by US Soccer as the fastest-growing program in putting players into elite programs consistently since its 1999 birth. Boasting a 95 percent college placement, the club has had many accolades over the past few years including having two of their girls' teams being ranked tops in the country as well as making the academy the academy playoffs every year with either their U-16s or U-18s team.
Currently, ESPN’s top 10 players under 21 in the United States include two ex-Force players: Mark Pelosi of Liverpool and Benji Joya of Santos Laguna.
Considering many have been playing soccer for the majority of their lives, to be granted the honor of playing in college at a school of their choice is nothing short of life-altering. For Michael Amick, who was recruited by UCLA, this was certainly true.
“Soccer for me has always been important all of my life; I’ve played since I was two years old,” said Amick. “Playing college has always been ‘that’ goal -- that thing I’ve strived for, that thing I’ve looked forward to and really worked to reach and when I got the opportunity to commit to UCLA, I was happy. It’s the biggest opportunity of my life and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Part of what makes playing with the Force so special for these players was the club’s emphasis on maintaining a balance between sports and other commitments, including school. Many players were trained in time management from a young age, as early as eight years old.
“The concentration has always been on making sure the academics are there along with their achievements in soccer," coach Chris Dangerfield said. "For them to come through and go to four-year schools, get scholarships and maintain a good academic grade-point average as well as being very talented soccer players, I mean that’s what the club strives to do and they’re really proud of doing that.”
The players will be taking this attitude with them to college, where their skills as scholars and athletes will be put to the ultimate test; however, it’s a challenge they’re ready for.
Said Nick Lima, who was recruited by Cal: “My first goal is education first so I have to get a degree from Cal. Also, I want to work every day and during the off-season to get a chance to play in the MLS or overseas somewhere and that’s my ultimate goal: to play at the professional level.”
Amick, too, is looking forward to taking both aspects of college life on a more serious level: he’s hoping to play professionally, but has back-up plans just in case. Amick said he aims to “make good connections with the people I go [to UCLA] with and maybe if soccer doesn’t work out [because of] an injury or something, I’ll get to have a good job like that, but being a professional is the ultimate goal.”
Whereas Amick and Lima are hoping to go professional, others are choosing to balance academia with soccer in a way which will ultimately lead them in a non-athletic career. Katherine Bell, who was recruited by Chapman University in Orange, is hoping to go into law.
“[Law] has always been a dream of mine, but I don’t know if that is going to be a reality. It would be amazing if it [were],” she said.
The 16 students recruited from the Force are the latest to join a total history of 185 players who have elevated to collegiate and professional soccer.
“It’s a testament to our coaching staff, whom we rely on heavily on to drive curriculum, to spend hours with you guys helping you get from where you start four years or five, six, seven, eight, whatever it was to this point, and this culmination, which is a pretty exciting time,” said De Anza Force President Tom Pridham.
Added Pridham: “I will tell you that the work is just beginning. As you move from the highest level from this youth program to college, being a student-athlete at the next level is a major commitment [but] it’s an exciting one.”
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Here is a list of the De Anza Force commits (high school in parentheses):
Men:
Michael Amick, UCLA (Harker)
Joseph Bolous, Cal Poly (Sacred Heart Prep)
Edson Cardona, Santa Clara University (Bellarmine)
Geoffrey Dunn, University of Portland (Wilcox)
Skylar Felt, University of Wisconsin (Palo Alto)
Nick Lima, University of California, Berkeley (Castro Valley)
Robert Peardon, Dominican University (Serra)
Andy Perez, University of California, Santa Barbara (Harker)
Travis Pillon, University of Pennsylvania (Head-Royce)
Gilbert Simonnetti, University of Delaware (St. Francis)
Women:
Katherine Bell, Chapman University (St. Francis)
Gabz Amos Grosser, Williams College (Castilleja)
Amelia Jacobs, University of Nevada, Reno (Carlmont)
Maddie Julian, University of California, Berkeley (Mitty)
Anna Martin, Sonoma State (Moreau)
Randall Stafford, Caldwell College (Woodside)
