Noyola Named 2007-2008 Gatorade and Parade Player of the Year

Teresa Noyola, long-time member of District 2’s MVLA Mercury, was named both the 2007-08 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year and the Parade Magazine National Player of the Year.

The Gatorade award recognizes not only athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and personal character. A national advisory board of sportswriters and other experts from around the country helped make the selection.

Noyola, a 5-foot 2-inch senior midfielder scored 18 goals and had seven assists for Palo Alto High School while splitting time with the US Soccer U20 Women’s National Team. She is the first-ever player to be named Youth, Scholar-Athlete, and High School Player of the Year in the same year by the NSCAA, and is also the first-ever two-time Parade Magazine Player of the Year.

Noyola is an excellent student. She maintainied a 4.0 GPA throughout high school and was a National Merit Finalist. Noyola now plays her college ball for Stanford.

SF Nighthawks Met Beijing Women's Team on January 6, 2008

Volunteer Assistant Coach and former China Women's Soccer Team Captain, Yang Zhou , arranged a match for the San Francisco Nighthawks against the Beijing Women's Soccer Team on Sunday, January 6, 2008 at San Mateo High School's turf field. Tryouts for the Blackhawks followed the game.

Founded in January 1985, the Beijing Women's Soccer Team is one of the strongest teams in China. In the past 20 years, the team has won many major games and championships, holding 12 championship titles and 13 second-place wins. The team won all six games in the 2005 National Sports Tournament, the best record for the team since 1987. In 2006, they won the highest level national championship.

The Beijing Women's Soccer Team has contributed more than 20 players to China's National Women's Soccer Team, including such well-known players as Ailing Liu, Lirong Wen, Yan Jin, Ying Liu, all of whom participated in the 1996 Olympic Games and 1999 World Cup, and were nicknamed "Unconquerable Roses of China."

Currently, the Beijing Women's Soccer Team rosters 3 China Women's World Cup Team players and 7 former players are now national youth team players.

Beijing Women's Soccer Team has a group of experienced coaches, and some of them, such as Yuanan Ma, Ruihua Shang, Haimin Wang, have been recruited by the China National Soccer Team.

In the past 20 years since its inception, the Beijing team has made tremendous achievements. They are officially recognized by Beijing Municipal Government with the title of "San Ba Red Flag Holder", and are also recognized by China National Sports Bureau with the title of "Advanced Team of National Sports.

MVLA Mercury's Teresa Noyola Named NSCAA/adidas Youth National Player of the Year

Teresa Noyola, captain of the U17G MVLA Mercury, who helped lead the Mercury to State Cup titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006, was named 2006 National Player of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Noyola has competed overseas as part of the U.S. Soccer U16, U17, and U20 national teams — playing as much as three years up — and has been in the national pool since her U14 season. She is a three-time NSCAA/adidas Youth All-American, playing for Palo Alto High School, and has earned first-team Central Coast Section honors from the San Jose Mercury News the past two years. She is expected to sign to play for Stanford next month.

Noyola was also named 2007 Girls Player of the Year by PARADE Magazine. She was the first high school junior in the 15-year history of the award to win it. Noyola was especially cited for her four goals in 11 matches for the U17 Women's National Team (WNT) last year. "She gets herself in position and gets her teammates in position," says Jillian Ellis, coach of the U.S. U20 WNT, of which Noyola is now on the roster. "She wants the ball at her feet."

District 2 Teams Lead Cal-North to Far West Regional Championships

District 2 was well-represented at the Far West Regional Championships in Boise, Idaho June 18th to June 25th. Six State Cup champions plus one wild card from District 2 competed in age groups ranging from U12 boys to U19 girls. The seven District 2 teams were the most for any district in Cal-North.

Not only did the D2 teams compete, but they also competed very well. Every team advanced from pool play to reach the knock-out rounds. Three teams fell in the quarterfinals: the U19G De Anza Force 86, U19G Stanford Quakes (Cal-North wild card), and U18B Santa Clara Sporting Ruckus. Reaching the semifinals were the U17B SCC Breakers 88 Blue and U16G MVLA Mercury. Both teams lost to the eventual Region IV champions, the Breakers to Cal-South's highly regarded and defending national champion Arsenal FC (with 7 players in the U18B national pool) and the Mercury to Real Colorado National.

Topping the results for Cal-North were two boys teams that reached the finals: the U12B Santa Clara Sporting, which lost 2-0 to CFC Italia III from Cal-South, and the U16B Mt. Hamilton Lobitos, which lost a heartbreaker 2-1 to Rampage FC, also from Cal-South. It was an exciting rollercoaster ride for the District II teams representing Cal-North at the tough Region IV championships, and now they've earned some time at the beach and on those other thrill rides at Great America or the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk!

Just starting out — the U12 Santa Clara Sporting boys pose after their runner-up finish at the Far West Regional Championships in Boise, Idaho.

District II's Larry Biggam Named CYSA 2005 Girls' Coach of the Year!

Larry Biggam (far right), coach of the Santa Cruz County Breakers 94G Blue team, was named CYSA State Girls' Coach of the Year at the CYSA Annual Convention in Sacramento in March, 2006.

Larry has coached recreational, competitive, and select teams for over 15 years in the Santa Cruz County (SCC) Youth Soccer League. In 1998, his Aptos Magic U12G comp team was State Association Cup co-champs. In 2001, Larry co-coached the U19B SCC Breakers team to the CYSA State Cup championship.

But wins and losses don't define Larry. “At the end of the day, soccer is about the memories and the relationships,” he said in his acceptance speech. “The kids have taught me far more than I have taught them; things like patience, perseverance, and perspective.”

In addition to his coaching duties, Larry has served as the Aptos club president and the SCC YSL president. He and his wife and soccer partner, Theresa, have 5 children and live in Aptos. In his “spare” time, Larry serves as the chief public defender for Santa Cruz County.

Articles & Interesting Information

• If the Sock Fits (Reprinted from the Georgia Tech Sports Medicine & Performance Newsletter)
• Athletic Performance and Myths About Sugar (Reprinted from the Georgia Tech Sports Medicine & Performance Newsletter)
• Laws of the Game - A creative presentation from FIFA