Players Confront Schedule Dilemma

Should they shoot for individual glory and pass on team goals? Or stick with the group and possibly lose future opportunities?

That’s the choice confronting many of the region’s top high school girls’ soccer players after the California Olympic Development Program’s decision to schedule tryouts for some of its prestigious state teams on Feb. 21, the day first-round competition begins in the Southern Section playoffs.

Elite girls’ players were originally scheduled to try out for the ODP under-15, under-16 and under-17 state teams last weekend in Bakersfield, but the event was rained out.

Bela Bircsak and other ODP state administrators recommended rescheduling tryouts for March 7-8 to avoid conflicts with high school playoffs.

Bircsak said the state board, comprised of district commissioners, voted Saturday to hold tryouts Feb. 21-22 in Bakersfield.

“Unfortunately, [the board] doesn’t listen to us,” Bircsak said. “I’m very upset. There’s always problems when you’re playing with the loyalties of the players.”

The Southern, San Diego and Los Angeles City Sections are also upset, said Karen Hellyer, the Southern Section administrator for soccer.

“We’re all very concerned,” Hellyer said. “We’d like that [the ODP] not infringe on our season at all since we don’t infringe on theirs.”

Westlake Coach Tahn Hyun, who could lose his top two players to the tryouts, and Notre Dame Coach Neezer McNab, who could lose three, said they will try to convince their players to remain with the team.

Chaminade Coach Mike Evans said five of his players who have tryouts can either play with the Eagles or turn in their gear.

“If they go and we get by the first round without them, we’ll get by as long as the season goes,” said Evans, whose team is the defending Division III champion. “It’ll probably end our season early, but hopefully we’ll have some hold on the girls and they’ll stay with their high school program.”

Everette Garmon, whose daughter Ashleigh is one of several key Buena players who may skip their team’s first-round game, disagrees.

“I think that’s a very selfish perspective,” Garmon said. “You’re talking about a kid’s future and those kids who are successful at ODP have a leg up with college and national team coaches. If you bow out of their system, they may not look favorably on you.”

Bircsak is advising players to participate in playoff games and make as much of the tryouts as they can. There will be four tryout games in each age division over the Feb. 21-22 weekend.