Desert Elite News

00 Elite Boys Red Takes First Place!
March 2010 - The Desert Elite Boys Red team worked hard this season and it paid off! With a record of 4-2-0, they placed in the top spot for Season II of the Maricopa Open league for their division. Along the way they were also undefeated in the Desert Classic Soccer Tournament, finishing in first place. After being together as a team with Coach Thomas now for two years they are playing with confidence and enjoying themselves out on the field. We are all looking forward to an even better next year! Great job team!

02 Desert Elite Boys take overall First Place
March 2010 – The 02 Desert Elite Boys finished their second season together today with an overall (both Fall and Spring) record of 16-1-2. The boys have played this season with excitement, determination and exuberance. They are thrilled to be teammates and as such worked together to conquer their opponents. The team is lead by Coach Dan and Coach Thomas who encourage the boys to be aggressive and leave all that they’ve got on the field. The last game of the season was won 2-1 after coming from behind. The 02 Desert Elite Boys were only scored on 10 times in the combined seasons and scored 69 goals against their opponents. The boys are looking forward to Spring clinics, tryouts and coming back as Champions in the Fall to continue their legacy.

Desert Elite Players Shine in High School
Cactus Shadows boys varsity soccer team led by Desert Sky Region Player of the Year Jordan Hartman of the 92 Desert Elite and Goalkeeper of the Year Justin Folts also of the 92 Desert Elite advanced into the quarterfinals of the 4A-1 state championships. The Falcon boys, coached by Tony Vos, had 13 Desert Elite Red players that helped them to a 2009-10 season 15-4 record outscoring their opponents 70-20.

Cactus Shadows High School girls soccer program, which is made up of 15 Desert Elite Red players and coached by Jeff Vittorio, finished the 2009-2010 season with a 18-5 record eventually losing in the state semi finals in a shoot out. The team outscored their opponents 81-13. Amamda Shimkus (93 Desert Elite) won the Desert Sky Player of the Year honor.

Pinnacle Pioneers Boys High School program had a great season of 25 wins and 1 loss. 92 Desert Elite Goalkeeper Michael Katzaroff led the squad in their effort in the beginning of the season and as the season developed. With several Desert Elite players in the Pioneer program and with Coach Goge, Director of Desert Elite Goalkeeper's Program, in his first year with the coaching staff, the Pinnacle Pioneers had a great match up against a tough Carl Hayden High School in the State Finals, that gave the Pioneers all they could handle, but our boys were able to show their grit and heart in overtime which in the end proved to be more than the Falcons could handle. Pinnacle 3 - Carl Hayden 2 in double overtime, 5A Div II. "Kiss My Ring"

Congratulations to All Desert Elite Players and their respective high school teams!

Desert Elite Holds College Coach Seminar
February 2010 - The Desert Elite College Prep Academy, kicked off it's College Coaches Seminar at the Paradise Valley Black Mountain Campus and Foothills Community Foundation. Approximately 40 players attended, along with 20 parents, combined to make the first seminar a successful, well attended event. Several players from the Anthem Soccer Club were also invited attended.

College coaches Christine Johnson (Arizona State University, D-I), Kacey Bingham (Paradise Valley Community College, Jr. College), Paul Barron (Grand Canyon University, D-II) went over the recruiting process and fielded many questions from the players and parents. Kristin Donati former Division-I player for Northern Arizona University shared her own recruiting experiences along with the coaches themselves that all played NCAA soccer as well. The College Prep Academy will start it's academic programs March 1st for all U-14-18 boys & girls teams, please see website for more details and resources.

Desert Elite Teams Attend Desert Classic Tourney en mass
February 2010 - Desert Elite had a great showing at the annual Desert Classic tournament with 14 teams entering the competition. With 4 boys teams and 10 girls teams taking part, everyone at Desert Elite experienced a great weekend of soccer with a lot of success, and the players represented the club fantastically. The 00B Red and 99G Black came away with gold after winning PK shoot outs in the final. One of our most successful age groups were the U14 teams, with the 96B White team capturing silver after just losing in the final, the 96B and 96G Red making the final four and the 96G Black just missed out on the semi finals. The 03B Red had a tremendous tournament with the boys showing real improvement and finishing 3rd. Our 99G Red deserve mention after coming up against a team they had previously lost to 7-0 and holding them to a 0-0 tie and winning there last game 4-1.

Director of Operations Noel Clarkson had this to say on a superb weekend, "Along with some great team performances on the field, it was great to see solidarity. Seeing our teams support each other even when they were not playing showed what great unity we have here across the Desert Elite program. Congratulations to all the teams, players and supporters."

00 Girls Red take First Place in the Ft. Lowell Tournament
January 2010 - The 2000 Girls Red team captured there first gold medal in the Ft. Lowell Tournament on Jan. 15-17. The girls played their best soccer all weekend with 2 wins and 1 tie. The first game was a heartbreaker tie as the girls were up 2-0, but gave up 2 late goals. That didn't seem to bother these girls, they went out in their second game strong and put up 8 goals to take the victory 8-1. On Sunday the girls had a tough matchup with an AYSO team from Tucson, and the winner of this game was going to take home the first place medal. They starting off slow with AYSO almost putting one away 20 seconds in the game, but the girls settled down and played their game of soccer and came out with a 4-0 victory to take the first place medal home. Coach Michelle said, "I couldn't be more proud of this team, they played their best soccer all weekend. It's amazing what they have improved on as a team and it shows on the field. Good Job girls!!!!"

98 Elite Red Girls Finish 2nd in Tucson Ft. Lowell Tournament
January 2010 – The 98 Girls Red played a great tournament and finished 2nd in the Ft. Lowell Shootout. The girls advanced to the semi finals by defeating 2 teams and tying one. Unfortunately, they lost a heart breaker 1-0 in the final. They also showed off their soccer skills at the Soccer Olympics finishing 1st in both the Dribbling and the Juggling competitions. Go Elite!

00G Elite Red and Black Go One - Two in Christmas Angel Tournament
December 2009 - The 00G Desert Elite Red and Black teams had a great showing in the XMAS Angel tournament. Both teams were dominate in their brackets and were able to play each other in the championship game. After a competitive game on both ends of the field, the black team pulled away with a 3-1 victory. With the game tied at 1, the black team scored a quick goal to take the lead and never looked back. Coach Ben and Coach Michelle could not be more proud of both teams. Great job girls and keep up the hard work!

00B Desert Elite Red Kick for the Cure Champs Two Years in a Row
November 2009 - Wow, talk about “déjà vu”! The 00 Desert Elite Red boys went undefeated into the Final game just like they had last year, and what a game it was. Again, tied at the end of regulation…again, tied at the end of overtime. The decision was down to penalty kicks and the Elite boys prevailed. Coach Thomas was very proud of these young men and said "the boys had a great weekend. It's pleasing to see they are carrying out some of the things they are learning in training. They made hard work of the final but I had faith we would come through at the end. We obviously had an attacking mentality throughout the weekend with our shape and expansiveness but not sure if coach can handle conceding so many goals at the other end, my finger nails and voice are gone. We had some great goals and everybody looked like they might score. Let's kick on and finish the season strong.”

97 Desert Elite Red Boys Go 7-0 in State League
November 2009 - The 97 Desert Elite Boys finished the first half of the 2009/2010 season undefeated at 7-0 in State League Division Two. With 24 goals scored and only 7 against they at times looked impressive. The season wasn’t without obstacles. Almost every player suffered through either flu symptoms or injury at some point of the season. They finished one game in 103 degree heat with 10 players, two of them getting sick on the pitch. With improving play throughout the season they look forward to moving up to State League Division One. Video

96G Elite Red takes 1st place in North Scottsdale Invitational
November 2009 - The 96 Desert Elite girls showed up game ready and determined for success! Not only were these girls undefeated throughout the tournament, but they also ensured all 4 games were shutout victories! This was an opportunity to play some local teams including a sister team, the DFSC 95/96 Desert Elite girls. They, too, should be congratulated on an impressive '2nd Place' ranking. These two teams clearly dominated the U14 Girls Bracket - Excellent job girls!

98 Elite Girls Finish 2nd in Ahwatukee
October 2009 – The 98 Girls Red played a great tournament and finished 2^nd in the Ahwatukee Soccer Fest. The girls shut down 3 teams to get to the finals only allowing 1 goal against them during the entire tournament. Unfortunately, they lost a heart breaker 2-1 in PKs in the final. Great job ladies!

96 Elite Girls Compete in Sereno Pro Classic Tourney
October 2009 – The 96G Red team represented Desert Elite exceptionally well in the Sereno Pro Classic. The girls participated in the Gold Division and played against teams from AZ, WA and NM. The girls got off to a great start when they beat Alliance FC 96 after losing to them 0-3 one week prior. The girls were undefeated with 1 win, 2 draws and 2 shutouts! Unfortunately, they missed out on the final at completion of a thrilling ten PK’s in shootout. Great job, girls! Keep up the great work!

Desert Elite Teams Hit the Road
September 2009 - Over Labor Day weekend seven Desert Elite teams competed in the annual Notts Forest Cup held in San Diego CA. The tournament attracts some of the best teams in the western United States and was a great opportunity for team bonding, for players and parents. The teams who made the trip included: 98B Elite Red, 97B Elite Red, 96B Elite Red, 95B Elite Red, 94B Elite Red, 96G Elite Red and 94G Elite Red.

The tournament was a big success with all teams representing the club with some great soccer. We had the 96G, 97B and 98B teams compete in the semi-finals while 94B went all the way to the final and ended up with 2nd place. The 97B only had 11 players the whole tournament and also made it to the semi finals. However the weekend is not just for soccer, all teams had a blast over the weekend. The 94B had a great day on mission beach, the 97B team had food and drinks on a boat just off the harbor at ocean village and all the teams had great fun staying in the hotels. The bonding in every team was evident over the weekend with most players and parents making some new friends within the club. Director of Coaching Rick Tilmans had this to say, "San Diego is always a great way to start the season. Seeing all the different DFSC teams mingle and support each other on and off the field makes you proud to be part of our close and unique Desert Elite Family."

Sept 2009 - The first seminar of the season was held for Desert Elite College Prep Program on Sept 18. J.D. Wyczalek, of Az College Planning, presented an overview of ways families should plan for college. Approximately 35 families attended and gained insight into tools, services and references in support of their college interests. J.D. addressed myths and techniques to maximize financial opportunities available. Additional information will be available to all Desert Elite U14-18 families in the near future through our DFSC College Prep portal. Next seminar will focus specifically on playing soccer in college.

Desert Elite Program Kicks-Off 2009-2010 Season
August 2009 – The Desert Elite Program kicked off the 2009-2010 soccer season with the School of Excellence held Aug 3-14. The Desert Elite School of Excellence is an intensive training program specifically designed for developmental and competitive players, and begins the process of building team relationships and unity. It was also an opportunity to incorporate specific skills training for our goalkeepers and overall athletic performance conditioning. “I was excited to see the past 4 months of forming the program come to reality. It was also fun meeting new parents and players who are cornerstone of the program,” said Rick Tilmans, Desert Foothills Director of Coaching. Click on images below to enlarge.

Goge Johl Appointed New Director of Goalkeeping
July 2009 – The Desert Foothills Soccer Club is proud to announce Goge Johl as DFSC's new goal keeper trainer for the Desert Elite Program. Goge brings with him a strong coaching resume, as well as, domestic and international playing experience. "I'm absolutely thrilled Goge has decided to join us. While his impressive resume speaks for itself, it is his coaching style, expertise, and experience that really make him one of the very best in AZ. Our Desert Elite keepers will undoubtedly thrive and improve greatly under Goge's dedicated and passionate tutelage,” Rick Tilmans, Desert Foothills Director of Coaching. Goge will also support various team coaching and training positions as a member of the Pro Staff.

Desert Elite Tryouts Complete with Record Attendance
June 2009 – Desert Foothills Soccer would like to thank everyone who attended our skill evaluation sessions during May and June. It was exciting to see approximately a 30% increase over last season across all age groups, from U7 to U18. If you missed our sessions and would like info on our Desert Elite Program, please email our Director of Coaching, Rick Tilmans, for more information.

Tim Graefe Joins the Desert Foothills Pro Staff
April 2009 - The Desert Foothills Soccer Club is excited to announce that Tim Graefe will be joining our Professional Soccer Staff for the 2009-2010 season. Tim brings an extensive resume of both playing and coaching experience which will allow the Desert Elite Program to further build on recent successes. Tim has USSF C and NSCAA Advanced National licenses, and brings over 14 years of youth coaching experience to our program. His playing experience has spanned 13 years from 1985-1998, with local, domestic and international teams. Additionally, Tim’s recent experience and success as an educator with the PVUSD, and several previous roles in Arizona and California demonstrates his skills at interfacing with our youth and leading them through their development.