Madera hosts first showcase
The Madera Coyote girls soccer team will host the first-of-its kind showcase in the Central Section on Friday and Saturday in Memorial Stadium,
Six top teams from the Central Section will face some of the best teams in the state in the 12-team Madera Girls Soccer Showcase, beginning Friday at 11 a.m.
“It was an idea I had my first year,” Madera head coach Cameron Hill said. “Last year, when John Vivian came on, he sent out emails to the top teams in the state and see what they felt like. I talked to the local teams and they were tired about playing in tournaments and playing the same teams. It was easy talking to the other schools. We reached out to the other schools and they wanted to play against top competition. It was like an idea and we put it together and now, it’s here.”
The feelers were sent out and Memorial Stadium will host five of the top 18 teams in the state, including Carondelet-Concord, ranked No. 6 in the nation and No. 2 in the state.
“Each team has a girl that plays on the National team in the Under-17 level,” Hill said. “There are Stanford commits, Cal commits, USC commits. There’s a lot of talent on those teams.”
In addition to Carondelet, out-of-section teams include Davis (No. 12 in nation, No. 5 in state); California-San Ramon (No. 34 in nation, No. 10 in state); Liberty-Brentwood (No. 42 in nation, No. 16 in state); El Camino Real-Woodland Hills (48 in nation), No. 18 in state) and Paso Robles.
“It’s a feather to know we get these teams to come,” Hill said. “We’ve invited college coaches, but we know there will be a lot of college to attend. We also have a random coach from Massachusetts coming in.”
Madera will play Paso Robles on Friday and California on Saturday. In addition, Clovis North, Clovis West, Clovis, Bullard-Fresno and Frontier-Bakersfield, will represent the Central Section.
“You wouldn’t think Madera could get these schools,” Hill said. “It’s great we can attract top teams from the area. It’s easy to attract when we have these teams lined up. They also want to get out of their area. It was a win-win.”
Another attraction for the teams was the central location of Madera. Hill said that no team will travel more than three hours to get to Memorial Stadium. In addition, all games will be played on the turf so weather won’t be too much of a factor.
“We told them weather is not a concern because of the turf,” Hill said. “That was a big draw to them.”
Because of the success of the draw, Hill is already getting inquires about playing in the showcase next year.
“We’ll see how it goes this year and expand it next year,” Hill said. “The teams in the valley will surprise those teams out of the area by how they play.”
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 students. Fans can purchase one ticket and can stay for the whole day.
“We’re feeding all the teams as well after each of their games,” Hill said. “It should be a good time. We hope people come out and enjoy themselves while watching good soccer.”
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Madera Girls Soccer Showcase
Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8 and 9, Memorial Stadium
Central Section teams: Madera, Clovis North, Clovis West, Clovis, Bullard and Frontier
Out-of-Section teams: Carondelet, Davis, California, Liberty-Brentwood, El Camino Real, Paso Robles Friday — Matches start at 11 a.m. and last match at 7:45 p.m.
Saturday — Matches start at 9 a.m. and last match at 5:15 p.m.
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 students.
