BOYS' SOCCER: CANYON STAR'S COMMITMENT TAKES HIM TO BC.Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News Competing in Sunday's 30th annual Senior High School All-Star game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games was the final chapter in many prep soccer players' careers. For Canyon High standout Shane Anderson, representing the East All-Stars offered a step toward a promising future. Canyon missed out on the Southern Section Div. II playoffs, so Anderson hadn't played in a competitive atmosphere in three weeks. His appearance Sunday at Monrovia High was the start of preparation to play next fall at Boston College Boston College, main campus at Chestnut Hill, Mass.; coeducational; Jesuit; est. and opened 1863. Actually a university, the school's Chestnut Hill campus comprises colleges of arts and sciences and business administration, the graduate school, and schools of nursing . ``I'm as excited as I am nervous,'' said Anderson, 17, an All-Foothill League first-team defender. ``It's going to be difficult, but I'm going to work as hard as I can to earn a spot and keep it.'' With Hart standout Matt Valaika electing to put away his soccer cleats in favor of baseball spikes when he attends UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , Anderson has established himself as the top boys' soccer recruit out of the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. this season. After watching former teammate Michael Clegg Michael Clegg (born 3 July 1977 in London) is a retired English football defender who most notably played for Manchester United. He currently works as the strength and conditioning coach of Sunderland. continue his soccer career at St. Mary's last fall, Anderson wanted a chance to play Division I soccer. ``Especially after seeing (Michael) go on to the next level, it made me want to go on even more,'' said Anderson, who joined teammates Spencer Tripp and Kevin Vensko on the all-league team. ``I didn't want to be left behind.'' Canyon coach Khris Savage, a former UC Santa Barbara standout, said Anderson's drive set him apart from his peers. ``I'm really proud of him, because he's the kid out of this group of seniors that's going on to the next level,'' said Savage, whose team finished fourth, behind Hart, Valencia and Saugus. ``At the beginning of the year, all of the seniors said they wanted to play in college, but then the reality sets in, and you only have one or two guys like Shane who are willing to make the commitment and the sacrifice to see it through.'' Anderson, who was recruited by Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State L.A. before Boston College began pursing him, knew he couldn't pass up an opportunity to compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953, the ACC's twelve member universities compete in twenty sports in the NCAA's Division I. , arguably ar·gu·a·ble adj. 1. Open to argument: an arguable question, still unresolved. 2. That can be argued plausibly; defensible in argument: three arguable points of law. the nation's finest men's soccer conference. ``It's going to be great competition,'' said Anderson, who plays for Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
``Last year was the (first) year I played Premier, but it definitely helped me with my speed of play. I think it's helped with my fitness and my training and getting the experience of playing the game in (college-type) situations.'' Boston College struggled last fall - the Eagles were 0-6-2 in the ACC See adaptive cruise control. , 5-8-2 overall - but Savage believes being the competitive atmosphere will bring out the best in Anderson. ``They play in a great conference where some of the best soccer in the country is being played,'' Savage said. ``What a great experience to be able to take part in. To have the courage to travel halfway across the world to do something you love is a wonderful thing.'' Anderson is planning to study business and finance. ``Boston College is really good academically, which was important to me, since soccer might not always be there,'' he said. ``I wanted to be able to use soccer as a steppingstone step·ping·stone n. 1. A stone that provides a place to step, as in crossing a stream. 2. An advantageous position for advancement toward a goal. .'' Erik Boal, (818) 713-3607 erik.boal(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Canyon High boys' soccer standout Shane Anderson in February signed a letter of intent to play at Boston College. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion