Youth Soccer News: Carlsbad Lightning Hosts Chivas USA in U14 Friendly

In a highly anticipated scrimmage, the Carlsbad Elite U14 ('97) boys took on a similar squad from Chivas USA at Aviara Field in Carlsbad on Saturday, April 23, 2011. The Lightning played a strong game against a very talented team, coming out on the short end of a 1-0 final score, and have nothing to hang their heads about. The teams played hard and clean, keeping the ball down and in play with good passing on both sides. Adrian Morales, coach of the Chivas USA U14, had nothing but praise for the Carlsbad Lightning boys afterwards. “This is a good team. We want to play against the best teams and this is one of the best teams around.”

Chivas USA took control of much of the first half, but Carlsbad Lightning never let up. Near the end of the half the visitors threatened twice with strong runs into the Carlsbad Lightning end, but the Lightning defense swarmed the attackers, denying Chivas USA the score. In the second half Carlsbad Lightning came out strong and made several runs into Chivas USA territory, but couldn’t finish against a tough defense. It wasn’t until around the 80th minute that Chivas USA took advantage of a Lightning breakdown in communication to finally slip one over the goal line. Although the boys seemed momentarily dismayed, Carlsbad continued to play strong until the final whistle.

The number one goal that both Coach Paul Holohan and Director of Coaching Mike Duggan had for the game was for the boys to have the chance to go up against a top-flight academy team that would challenge their skills. It was also a chance for the team to keep in shape during an off week of State Cup play. Lightning had won both of its games the previous weekend and Coach Holohan didn’t want them to lose that edge during the off week. “There’s no way you can have an off week,” during State cup said Coach Holohan.

"Bottom line -- development begins with proper training." said Coach Holohan. "I believe we do it the right way at Carlsbad Elite.  Meaningful games are a chance to validate how a team is performing.  We believe in less total soccer matches and more competitive games like this one. This is what we are all about."

"The U.S. Soccer’s Best Practices utilized by the U-17 U.S. National Team Residency program is something we practice as well. Increasingly, our staff believes there is a misplaced focus on playing just any game. Every few months a new league  or a new tournament format is announced. That is not where we spend our time. At Carlsbad, we train properly and play meaningful games. We will always get quality matches like this one today, independent of whatever league we are in.  I am proud that today, our U14 97s Elite team played head-to-head with Chivas USA and a combination of their U14s and 15s players. The level of play was excellent on both sides, top class. This is one of the reason that Carlsbad, as a club, continues to attract the elite "college bound" player,  and games like we saw today is one of the reasons why more and more elite players are calling Carlsbad Lightning their home."

One huge advantage Carlsbad Lightning has for development is Coach Holohan, the new Director of the Boys Elite Program. Holohan, who played professionally in Ireland for the Shamrock Rovers, is currently an assistant coach with the SDSU men’s soccer program and spent 12 years coaching for the San Diego Nomads Soccer Club. With his background and contacts in the soccer community, he is able to set up games with games such as Chivas and Arsenal.

Carlsbad Lightning is one of the top competitive soccer clubs in America and produces highly talented and skilled soccer players.  It is also one of the largest youth soccer clubs in the San Diego area.

“You have to play these kinds of opponents so you learn,” said Coach Holohan after the game. “They’re putting you under pressure with the quickness of their play. So it makes you adjust and grow as a player. Playing teams that aren’t going to challenge you is no good for you. That’s why we want to play these meaningful games against these good teams and academies because we want to be pushed. And it was great today.”

Next week the boys from Carlsbad travel to Lancaster for the next round of play in the Cal State State Cup.

Carlsbad Elite Team is a division of Carlsbad Lightning. The Elite team is the premier team.

Photography Credit: Stephen Prendergast