The Santa Barbara Soccer Club’s Boys 2003 Elite has landed in Florida to compete in the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships this week.
The team, comprised of elite players from local high schools as well as Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo County, has been together since 2015.
“I have had the pleasure of seeing this group develop into one of the top teams in California, the Far West Region and now one of the top teams in the country,” head coach Rudy Ybarra said. “This group is a committed group, hard working and with a passion for this beautiful game.”
This team has won a total of four championships this season en route to participating in the nationals — the Surf Cup, Coast Soccer League Premier, Cal-South National Cup and Far West Regional Championship.
The title at the Far West Regional Championships in Boise, Idaho, clinched a trip to Bradenton/Sarasota to compete with regional champions and runners-up from across the country.
“They are a pleasure to coach,” said Ybarra of the U18 players. “The team comes to training ready to work on their personal development. More importantly, they work as a team and focus on the team’s development over their individual development.”
Santa Barbara enters the eight-team tournament ranked No. 4 in the nation. The ’03 Boys will be seeking the club’s fifth national championship.
The squad will play three group games against Baltimore Celtic, Kingdom Soccer Club of Michigan and West Flordia Flames.
The other group consists of Las Vegas Sports Academy, Springfield South County of Virginia, Indiana Fire Juniors Red and Bethesda Blue of Maryland.
The top two teams in each group advance to the semifinals on July 24, and the winners play for the national title on July 25.
The Santa Barbara Soccer Club is looking for donations to help cover expenses for the trip to the nationals in Florida. A GoFundMe account has been started to raise funds.
The SBSC ’03 Elite include: Carson Spahr, Cason Goodman, Barrett Goodman, Diego Garcia, Sam Friedman, Alex Lavariega, Jackson Wolf, Jared Vomsteeg, Christian Jimenez, Martin Anguiano, Jonah Dewhurst, Jorge Silva, Jose Herrera, Luke Goodman, Kevin Weslow, Miguel Alvarado, Miguel Mondragon, Rene Pacheco, Erik Guerrero and Erick Hernandez. The head coach is Rudy Ybarra, assisted by Oscar Hernadez. The team manager is Beth Goodman.