SFEA developing talent rapidly

Look around the Girls Academy landscape and you will be hard-pressed to find a program developing talent the way that the San Francisco Elite Academy is developing girls talent. With a 2005 team that features several national team players, and is in a position to go to Nationals, the teams coming up behind them, the 2006, 2007 and 2008 GA teams are going to feature a new wave of girls getting call ups or getting looks at talent ID camps. The 06 and 08 teams are teams that could play themselves into nationals as well, and along with the 07’s, the talent is rich at SFEA. Essentially the three teams mentioned above are chalked full of good players, and now it is about getting them prepared for, and noticed on, the national stage. <strong>Isabelle Bernal, Central Midfielder</strong> Bernal was the Co-MVP of the Bay Counties League Central, playing at International High School, and is a very savvy soccer player. She is a field rat. If you go around to fields in San Francisco, she’s probably on one of them. She is good tactically and is very competitive. <strong>Bridget Fox, Central Defender/Defensive Midfielder</strong> Fox, a 2006 player, plays the six at Lowell High, but features in the back mostly for SFEA. She loves the game, and is a true soccer head. She’s a tough player, who does the necessary work to get better. She’s getting used to competing every minute at this level and this is making her better and tougher. <strong>Ariel Fu-Chen, Midfielder</strong> Fu-Chen is an 06 player, and one that the SFEA is very happy to have on board because she has not hit her peak and that peak is coming. She is on the radar for the Taiwan National team, but because they don’t have a U17 team she will be a target for the U20 team. She is a very silky smooth player, who is smaller but is tactically and technically sound. She has excellent technique, a great first touch and is a true two-footed player. <strong>Natalie Grosse, Forward</strong> Grosse, another of the talented 06 players, plays on the right wing. She is a player who has been to ODP and talent ID camps and is a peak, world class athlete. She scored a 12.7 on the beep test, which speaks incredibly highly of her athleticism and ability. She was a sophomore starter at St. Ignatius, and is a player that can run all day and has the ability to turn the corner and get to goal. She recently stood out at the National Showcase in Greensboro, N.C. <strong>Clodagh McIntyre, Midfielder</strong> McIntyre, a 2008 player, is an old school player, one who wants to play every minute of every match, and usually does. One who has a work rate like nobody else on the pitch and a motor that won’t stop. She trains hard as well, taking training just as serious as matches. She is a very technical player. [caption id="attachment_44436" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/05/Stella-crop-642x422-1651722174.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-44436" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/05/Stella-crop-642x422-1651722174-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>Stella Mongberg.</strong> <em>Photo: SFEA</em>[/caption] <strong>Stella Mongberg, Forward/Attacking Midfielder</strong> Monberg plays on the 08 team and is a top-level player, perhaps a future USWNT player. She plays primarily on the left wing, and can use both of her feet. She dribbles past defenders with ease, is great at cutting the ball over to her right foot and scoring from just about anywhere in the final third. She can score goals in bunches and in a variety of ways. She is a player who can truly do it all. <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/652654664?h=a737bb7254" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/652654664">Stella Monberg (SFEA 2008) - 2021 Highlights v4</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user2680757">jason monberg</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. [caption id="attachment_44434" align="alignright" width="150"]<a href="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/05/Victoria-crop-642x422-1651722072.jpg"><img class="wp-image-44434 size-thumbnail" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/05/Victoria-crop-642x422-1651722072-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> <strong>Victoria Nealy.</strong> <em>Photo: SFEA</em>[/caption] <strong>Victoria Nealy, Keeper</strong> Nealy has been in the US Youth National Training ID center and is a very up and coming young keeper, playing for the SFEA 2007 team. She is a leader on the pitch, and physically can do what you need a keeper to do. She is a great shot stopper, she is organized and she can distribute with her feet. <strong>Nairobi Smith, Forward</strong> [caption id="attachment_44438" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/05/Nairobi-crop-642x422-1651722236.jpg"><img class="wp-image-44438 size-medium" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/05/Nairobi-crop-642x422-1651722236-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> <strong>Nairobi Smith.</strong> <em>Photo: SFEA</em>[/caption] People bandy about the terms "fast" and "speed" pretty freely when discussing players, but Smith warrants those terms like few others do. She is sprinter fast, as in one of the fastest sprinters in Northern California fast and will likely be a college track star. She could easily be a two-sport athlete in college. She is an excellent forward who glides past defenders and has good foot skills on top of her world class speed for her age. She plays on the 2006 team. <strong>Julia Ting &amp; Sophia Ting, Outside Defenders</strong> Perhaps the twins are not thrilled with always being lumped in together, but they are incredibly similar when it comes to their roles at SFEA. They both play outside back (Julia on the right, Sophia on the left) and they both are very tactically and technically special players. They are willing to do the work, and are also willing to play out of position in order to get the best 11 players on the pitch as they are usually attacking players.