The Virginia 1993 boys ODP team captured the Region I crown for the second time in 3 straight years. In the championship final round, held in Kirkwood, Delaware, they beat NJ 3-1 in the semis and PA-west 1-0. Eric Bird, Kyler Sullivan, Marcus Luster and Luis Rendon led this U17 state select team through this very difficult and challenging region wide event. A large number of college coaches were on hand for future player identification.
However, all eyes were on the boy’s 1995 age group as, for the first time in history, two teams from the same state met in the finals of the prestigious Region I ODP Tournament. In the 1995 (U15) boys age group Virginia-1 played Virginia-2 to a 3-1 victory in the championship game.
Virginia-1 breezed through the group stage in commanding fashion dispatching Eastern NY-north 4-0, Eastern PA 1-0, and NY-west 5-1. They then went on to defeat Massachusetts in the semis 3-1 before encountering the other Virginia squad. Virginia-2 beat Vermont 3-0, Connecticut 3-1, and NJ 2-1 in the group stage. They then defeated Eastern NY-south 3-1 in the semis. Before succumbing to VA-1 (VA-2 scored first) in the finals.
It speaks volumes to the level of talent that the 1995 age group has when two teams from our own same state can meet in the tournament finals. This group of talented boys has placed 17 players in last year’s regional pool team while also having the benefit of traveling twice to Italy with the Region team They also got the added benefit of playing games in the Czech Republic and Spain and Portugal with the VYSA.
A great deal of credit has to go to the clubs where these boys come from and subsequently spend the majority of their time. However, a major tip of the hat must also go to ODP head coach Matt Badiee who has molded and developed these 2 teams over the last few years. Through good player identification and solid training he was able to get the best out of them to a point where history has been made.
