Getting the ball rolling
An intramural soccer league hits the clubs at SMCHS.
The fresh cut grass, the glistening white lines painted on the field and the sound of a ball hitting the back of the net. The beautiful game has made its way to SMCHS yet again.
Seniors Will Trammell and Nick Furbish are co-founders of SM Liga, which gets its name from the popular soccer league in Spain, Liga BBVA. This is a new club on campus that functions as an intramural soccer league.
“The league is an opportunity for any students, players or non-players to get together and play some soccer on the weekends,” Furbish said.
Furbish and Trammell kicked around the idea when everyone still had “football fever” from the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They wanted to get their friends together to play some competitive games of soccer, while still having a good time.
“The competition is a real healthy competition, obviously, because both teams want to win,” Trammell said. “It is still supposed to be a fun league, but it is quite competitive, which people like.”
The first thing a brand new league needs is teams for players to join. The fact that you get to form your own team with all of your friends sparked the interest of some SMCHS students. When word spread, it swept through the campus like wildfire. One after another, students approached Trammell or Furbish to form their teams.
“Basically it started with Coto F.C. and it was just going to be that team with a series of pickup games,” Furbish said. “Then people started to find out and we went from Coto F.C., to Geno Town F.C. and Laguna F.C. to 10-12 teams in the making. We currently have eight solidified teams and are working with the others to try to get a 12 team league.”
From humble beginnings, the club has turned into a bustling, fine-tuned league. Soccer players and novices alike comprise every team. The intramural league is a way for students to get active and have fun at the same time.
“Originally we were going to have tryouts, but then we thought it should be a laid back type of deal,” Trammell said. “We want to give people competitive games, but we also want to make sure that everyone has fun and stays safe.”
The league will consist of two seasons. The fall season will be the inaugural season for the SM Liga, followed by a season of friendlies during the winter. This is so players who are on the school team can focus on their season, while intramural players can still compete. The final season for the 2014-2015 year will be in the spring.
“We didn’t want to string it out super far to where it got unrecoverable if a team ran the table in the league,” Furbish said. “This way, they have the winter friendlies season is to sharpen up. So, say if you lose in the fall season, you have the winter to prepare and then the spring season to go out and avenge your losses.”
The SM Liga takes players from every skill level and every school, such as Mater Dei and JSerra. Each team is allowed a “Transfer Limit” that allows you to bring in three of your friends who attend other schools. Laguna F.C. forward Jonathan Klinsmann is one of these transfer players. Klinsmann, a Mater Dei senior, is son of U.S. Men’s National Team head coach, Jürgen Kilnsmann, and a national team goalkeeper himself. Jonathan did not allow a single goal in international competition for the U.S. Youth National Team Men’s U-18 team last competitive cycle.
“I joined the league because I wanted to something with my friends back in middle school that was both physically engaging and fun for everyone and I think the league is doing a great job of maintaining both,” Klinsmann said.
The talent highlight in the club is Geno Town F.C.’s Brooklyn Gonzalez. Gonzalez is a SMCHS senior and is also a defending back-to-back national champion with her club team, the Del Mar-Carmel Valley Sharks Elite, where she plays defense and midfield.
“I joined because I thought it would be super fun to play on a team with people I wouldn’t normally be able to play with,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a good way to get closer with the people on your team. It is great that teamwork is really prominent and the fact that I have met a lot of new people is also a plus.”
With each team in the SM Liga currently competing in friendlies, awaiting for official competition, due to start next week, the intramural soccer league is ready for kickoff.
