A select squad of female student athletes from Victorian all U19s will travel to the USA in late December 2016 with a view of being familiarised with the American collegiate system and opening the possibility of studying and playing overseas.
Led by South Melbourne Women’s senior head coach Socrates Nicolaidis through his consulting company MatchFit Australia, the sides will compete in two highly regarded national-level collegiate showcase tournaments: the Orange Classic Girls International College Showcase Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the Disney International College Showcase Tournament in Orlando, Florida. There will also be a training clinic with guest college coaches in attendance to conclude the two-week program in Miami.
With many college coaches in attendance watching, evaluating and identifying players for their schools, the trip presents an opportunity for student-athletes to potentially launch a career path both on and off the pitch in the United States. The tour will leave December 23rd, 2016 and return on January 9, 2017.
Nicolaidis said his decades of experience within the USA club and school system had opened his eyes to the benefits of the college system in playing a significant role in an individual’s playing and personal development.
“I started my journey in the USA in 1998. After arriving in New Jersey and working with many clubs, a hotbed of national level youth players have gone onto to play at the highest level of women’s soccer in the USA. During my time there I was fortunate enough to coach an U14 NJ State team and be involved in elite training of players, at this point I realised how important college soccer was to the student athlete and how focused and driven they were to play and attend these colleges as young as year 9 and year 10.
“While coaching in the states for 14 years, the older U15-U19 teams I worked with always participated in both the Orange Classic and Disney Showcase tournaments. These two tournaments draw college coaches from almost every state in the country and they are highly recognised as ‘the’ tournaments to attend for the serious-minded student athlete.
“Within the last two-three years since I have been back living in Australia I have seen a surge in interest from the Australian high school student athlete to study and play abroad. I feel that with both my professional coaching and personal involvement in the process is something that I know I would be able to help the Australian player accomplish.
“From this I created MatchFit College USA, a boutique program dedicated in sincerely helping guide the players by consulting with them through the entire college process; from selecting and playing in the right type of showcase tournament, identifying the best college combine camps, then evaluating and selecting the school of choice in education and in football.”
Numerous Victorians, including most recently Beattie Goad who plays at Stanford University, have made the transition to American college football after spending their formative years playing locally.
MatchFit has had over 100 players go on to play in various colleges and secured over $1 million in academic and athletic scholarships – by providing its members an outline of where they fits within the collegiate system via a personal plan that can have them studying and playing abroad in the United States.
For the USA tour, a minimum of eight matches will be played as part of the program. A roster of 22 players are allowed for each tournament – currently there are 18 players secured, and any further willing participants (maximum of four) are encouraged to apply.
Nicolaidis is planning on taking three girls and three boys teams – of age group level U15, U17 & U19 – next year in December 2017. More details are contained on www.matchfitaustralia.com.au.
Current squad:
1-Coco Majstorovic (GK) – SMWFC
2-Christina Agyropolous – Alamein FC
3-Dakota Thyssen -SMWFC
4-Jade Feakes – Box Hill United
5-Bry Gurr – Alamein FC
6-Rachel Jarvis – SMWFC
7-Catherine Oddo – SMWFC
8-Lexi Anastasiou – SMWFC
9-Chloe Billingham -Southern United
10-Cleo Taliadoris – SMWFC
11-Caitlin Greiser – SMWFC
12-Lexi Karatzikos (GK) – SMWFC
13-Ciara Singleton – SMWFC
14-Samantha Black – Heidelberg United
15-Eryiel McGookin – Heidelberg United
16-Eva Harrington – Calder United
17-Irene Paracki – NTC U15
18-Lauren Boyd – SMWFC