Young Guam soccer stars gain valuable experience on mainland trip

The U17 Select Women's Team representing Guam in San Diego gained some quality time on the pitch. Team Guam played up in the tournament, competing in the U18 Division. Guam's age range for the competition was 12-16 years old.
Gabrielle Moser with the U17 Select Team said, "It's a very new environment. I've never stayed someplace where you train and you live in the same facility. It's cool because you get to be around other athletes and it's not just soccer or one sport. There's like many different age groups and many different sports all training in one facility."
Taylor Stewart also said, "I feel like since we're rooming together and all of that it builds trust and also the vibes are up and the energy as well. We can basically get through anything here in Cali. We're going against some older girl's and it's hard but it's a fun hard. Challenging in a way that we can get creative and just try and do our best no matter what."
Moser added, "I feel like their playing style here is way different from what we learn back home. They're more physical. It's a more physical game than back home, where it's more skill. I think the height played a big part in it too. Out here there are a lot of tall players and we're not really use to going up against taller opponents so that was also interesting to work with."
The 15th Cope del Mar Sharks Invitational Tournament was played at the San Diego Polo Fields. The U 17 Select Team played to a 2-2 draw in their opening game and lost their second match 3-0.
Moser said, "On past trips we've gone to different countries in Asia but we've never really gone to anywhere in the United States. It's cool seeing how different cultures play and at the end of the day it's soccer but it's different styles of soccer. So expanding that horizon where one team plays more physical and one team plays more dependent on skills, passes it's good to expand that and be able to play whatever."
Guam Football Association Technical Director, Sang Hoon Kim, and Head Coach Derrick Cruz led the staff on the trip to the West Coast.
Stewart said, "It pushes us harder to run as fast as they can and pass as good as they can. And so I the end it just allows us to be a better team."
Sang Hoon Kim, says he hopes all the players use this opportunity to assess the next steps in their development compared to their peers in the U.S., as well as to start thinking about their plans after high school and how consistent football development may help them achieve their goals."
Moser said, "I would like to thank GFA for just giving us this opportunity because without them we wouldn't be able to be here without them organizing it. With the staff and the coaches just putting the time into helping us improve as a team and us players as individuals. I would also like to thank my grandma back home for supporting me and staying up late at night to watch me play."
Stewart said, "I would also like to thank the GFA just for how they out this all together for us and as a team. It means a lot and how we ultimately go from this and for us to think what's next. I would also like to thank my mom for flying all the way out here with me and also my grandma for flying across the country just to watch me and my sister play and for my dad who was watching across the country keeping up with all of the matches."