BIG Goals
Volkswagen-sponsored Junior Masters soccer tournament helps PDA Pele earn
world title chance in Madrid
When a PDA Pele team member tapped a gentle lead pass to his teammate, mere minutes remained in the 12-and-younger soccer match that determined the U.S. representative to the Volkswagen Junior Masters World Championship. From the top of the opponents’ penalty area, on the turf of RFK Stadium during a cold, misty Washington, D.C., October afternoon, the team gathered the ball on the run and drove it right between the outstretched hands of the opposing goalie.
This second goal of the match capped Players Development Academy (PDA) Pele’s 2-0 victory. The international Junior Masters competition was created by Volkswagen AG and is the first of its kind in the U.S. “Supporting youth soccer is a natural fit for Volkswagen,” says Ben Freidson, Manager of Sports Marketing, Volkswagen of America. “These families are dedicating a large portion of their weekends traveling to tournaments across the country. Our lineup of family-oriented vehicles, including the Routan, Jetta SportWagen, CC, Passat Wagon and Tiguan, are all tailored to fit the needs of the lifestyle of an active family.” The qualifying tournament began with 80 U.S. teams. Only one will compete in Madrid, Spain, this May against the world elite of the 12-and-younger age group.
“We’re just a little club from Zarephath, New Jersey,” says PDA Pele’s head coach Sam Nellins. He’s being humble, which is the way of a coach of his impressive credentials. Nellins has an impressive résumé. He’s an elite soccer player from London, who is now living his passion of developing players to compete at the highest levels of the sport worldwide.
“We have developed women players who played in the World Cup® and the Olympic Games®,” says Nellins, “and we have male players who now play professionally in Europe and in the MLSSM (Major League Soccer). We also have kids who now play at the top levels in colleges all over the United States. With our younger players, we end up getting a lot of overachievers, because they see the path that’s available to them.”
Playing professionally is the likely destiny of several players on Nellins’ team. But their next immediate destination is Madrid May 5–10, 2010. Nellins anticipates the incredible opportunity that awaits him there. And he recognizes that’s all been made possible by Volkswagen, a company that supports many grassroots youth sports at the community level, in addition to professional franchises like D.C. United® of the MLS. Six separate qualifying tournaments divided the 80 teams into pools of 12 to 16. The top two finishers in each pool comprised the field of 12 that competed for the U.S. berth to Madrid.
“Volkswagen provided us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says Nellins appreciatively. “They treated us the way players at that level are treated in Europe and South America. It was a professionally run event. And now, we’re going to Madrid. It’s an opportunity that I never even conceived as a player.” Yet Nellins also realizes the true premise of youth sports. Though some of America’s best youth soccer players play for PDA teams, Nellins feels that winning at the 12-and-younger level is not a high priority. It’s all about improvement and progress, and that is evident in the way he approaches the game.
For example, before a difficult and tense 3-2 semifinal win against TAP FC Milan of Alexandria, Virginia, Nellins says, “The boys are really excited. We’ve wanted to play Milan for a while, and this game will be a real challenge,” all with the casualness of ordering an appetizer at a restaurant.
As fortunate as Nellins and his players feel about winning the chance to represent the United States in Madrid, PDA Pele will also represent Volkswagen admirably as one of the 20 international teams in the field.
“It’s a really honest, multi-cultural group,” says Nellins. “They all come from different backgrounds. They really compete against each other very hard, and game days are fun because they get to play against other competition. They want to see how good they can be.”
They will be sternly tested in Madrid.
“The enthusiasm and positive response from the parents and kids throughout the preliminary rounds was great to experience,” says Freidson. “With the inaugural United States championship completed, we are looking forward to having PDA Pele represent the United States in an exciting international final.”