Local players make state ODP rosters
- Updated: April 27, 2017
George, Turley selected to Alabama Olympic Development regional rosters
Erin Turley (L) and Noah George (top R) have advanced to the next phase of the U.S. Soccer Olympic Development program.
By East Alabama Sports Today
Two local youth soccer players have made Alabama Olympic Development Program regional teams in their respective age groups, the next step on the journey to becoming an Olympian.
Noah George, a sixth grader at Sacred Heart, has been selected to the Alabama 2004 team that will play in Region III trials July 8-12 in Tuscaloosa.
Erin Turley, a fifth grader at C.E. Hanna Middle School in Oxford, made the Alabama girls 2005 team that meets July 6-10 at Montevallo.
The states in Region III include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and parts of Texas.
These camps will identify players for the regional player pool that will later be trimmed to the team that will play in the national trials.
George, whose dad Greg coaches the Sacred Heart boys team, is a left wing and center midfielder for the Vestavia Hills Soccer Club. He has been on a soccer field virtually from the day he was born and has been playing since he was 3.
“ODP training helps prepare me to move closer to one day being chosen for the Olympic team,” Noah said. “Even making the state team last year and this year doesn’t mean I make it next year, so I have to keep working hard to keep making the team. My next goal is to make the region pool and team.”
Turley plays center midfield for the Fusion SC.
“I feel like I have accomplished a lot since I first started playing soccer and I’m very proud of myself for making it this far,” Erin said. “But I’m going to have to start working harder.”
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