Post by markilizer on Mar 20, 2013 17:53:45 GMT 8
Prep girls soccer: Marin Catholic's Wilson drawing interest from colleges, the Philippines
By Ian Ross
Marin Independent Journal
CAMILLE WILSON can play at a high level just about anywhere on the soccer field. Her abilities on the pitch have not only caught the eyes of several NCAA Division I college soccer coaches but have also landed her in the player pool for the Philippine women's national team.
Wilson, a junior at Marin Catholic who lives in Novato, plays as a holding midfielder for the Wildcats, a striker for her Marin FC club team and has filled in on multiple occasions as a goalie on both squads.
"Ever since she was a young player — 10 or 11 years old — she's always been an extremely creative and extremely technical player," said Tyler Gottschalk, an assistant coach at MC who also coached Wilson at Marin FC. "It was always fun to watch her play. She'd try things that other players wouldn't even think about. Her ability to strike a ball makes her very dangerous in the attack. She has great composure on the ball, stays calm and makes good decisions with it. She's really good in the air — an all-around great person who always works hard."
With Wilson having already accomplished so much in high school, at club and as a member of the State North Olympic Developmental Program team, her father, James, sent an e-mail to Ernie Nierras, the coach of the Philippine women's national soccer team — a.k.a the Malditas — last summer.
Camille, who was born in the U.S. but both of her parents were born and raised in the Philippines, was invited to a training camp in Fullerton last November, earning her first international cap with the under-19 team during the Viking Cup. During the event, Wilson played against Maribel Dominguez, a star on the Mexican national team.
"I was really nervous at first," Wilson said of the training camp. "I didn't know anyone there. I felt really weird, the playing style was different. Just playing with different people is always interesting because you don't really know how they play. It was nerve-wracking."
Wilson made enough of an impression to get invited back for a subsequent training camp that begins Monday in Southern California. Some players from that camp could be selected to represent the Philippines in the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers in Bangladesh in May which serves as qualifiers for the next Women's World Cup.
"It's very exciting," Wilson said. "It's a great opportunity and this could possibly dictate what I'm going do in the future — maybe play with the actual national team and travel around the world. It would be a great opportunity."
Wilson has several opportunities laid out in front of her at the moment, with even more streaming in following the Las Vegas Players College Showcase this past weekend, where Wilson competed with her Marin FC teammates.
In the team's second game of the showcase, Marin FC trailed by a goal late when coach Jason Werner turned to Wilson.
"We had 4 minutes left," Werner said. "I'd put her on bench to rest her. I thought 'Let's try Camille in the last 4 minutes to see if we can get a miracle goal' and sure enough she scored."
Wilson's performance throughout the showcase drew the attention of several college coaches.
"After the first game we had Dartmouth, Columbia and the University of Miami just waiting in line to talk to me and they all mentioned her name," Werner said.
Wilson said she has also drawn interest from or had contact with Colorado College, Vassar, St. Mary's and Seattle University.
Versatility has been the name of Wilson's game to this point, though she says she prefers playing as a holding midfielder, her current position at MC. Her ability to fill in as goalie or to join the attack with the skill set of a striker are just added bonuses for MC coach Rob Funes.
"She's a real gamer," Funes said. "There are good players but she's a great player. She makes the players around her better, just how she moves off the ball and with her technical ability. She almost plays like a guy out there. She watches quite a bit of professional soccer and tries to imitate what they do out there and has success at it. She's a real student of the game and it's paid off."
Wilson has already scored a pair of goals from outside the 18-yard box for MC this season. As if her ability to play anywhere wasn't enough to demonstrate her versatility, she scored from range against Lick-Wilmerding with her natural right foot and beat Marin Academy from range with her left.
www.marinij.com/prepsports/ci_22826357/prep-girls-soccer-marin-catholics-wilson-drawing-interest
By Ian Ross
Marin Independent Journal
CAMILLE WILSON can play at a high level just about anywhere on the soccer field. Her abilities on the pitch have not only caught the eyes of several NCAA Division I college soccer coaches but have also landed her in the player pool for the Philippine women's national team.
Wilson, a junior at Marin Catholic who lives in Novato, plays as a holding midfielder for the Wildcats, a striker for her Marin FC club team and has filled in on multiple occasions as a goalie on both squads.
"Ever since she was a young player — 10 or 11 years old — she's always been an extremely creative and extremely technical player," said Tyler Gottschalk, an assistant coach at MC who also coached Wilson at Marin FC. "It was always fun to watch her play. She'd try things that other players wouldn't even think about. Her ability to strike a ball makes her very dangerous in the attack. She has great composure on the ball, stays calm and makes good decisions with it. She's really good in the air — an all-around great person who always works hard."
With Wilson having already accomplished so much in high school, at club and as a member of the State North Olympic Developmental Program team, her father, James, sent an e-mail to Ernie Nierras, the coach of the Philippine women's national soccer team — a.k.a the Malditas — last summer.
Camille, who was born in the U.S. but both of her parents were born and raised in the Philippines, was invited to a training camp in Fullerton last November, earning her first international cap with the under-19 team during the Viking Cup. During the event, Wilson played against Maribel Dominguez, a star on the Mexican national team.
"I was really nervous at first," Wilson said of the training camp. "I didn't know anyone there. I felt really weird, the playing style was different. Just playing with different people is always interesting because you don't really know how they play. It was nerve-wracking."
Wilson made enough of an impression to get invited back for a subsequent training camp that begins Monday in Southern California. Some players from that camp could be selected to represent the Philippines in the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers in Bangladesh in May which serves as qualifiers for the next Women's World Cup.
"It's very exciting," Wilson said. "It's a great opportunity and this could possibly dictate what I'm going do in the future — maybe play with the actual national team and travel around the world. It would be a great opportunity."
Wilson has several opportunities laid out in front of her at the moment, with even more streaming in following the Las Vegas Players College Showcase this past weekend, where Wilson competed with her Marin FC teammates.
In the team's second game of the showcase, Marin FC trailed by a goal late when coach Jason Werner turned to Wilson.
"We had 4 minutes left," Werner said. "I'd put her on bench to rest her. I thought 'Let's try Camille in the last 4 minutes to see if we can get a miracle goal' and sure enough she scored."
Wilson's performance throughout the showcase drew the attention of several college coaches.
"After the first game we had Dartmouth, Columbia and the University of Miami just waiting in line to talk to me and they all mentioned her name," Werner said.
Wilson said she has also drawn interest from or had contact with Colorado College, Vassar, St. Mary's and Seattle University.
Versatility has been the name of Wilson's game to this point, though she says she prefers playing as a holding midfielder, her current position at MC. Her ability to fill in as goalie or to join the attack with the skill set of a striker are just added bonuses for MC coach Rob Funes.
"She's a real gamer," Funes said. "There are good players but she's a great player. She makes the players around her better, just how she moves off the ball and with her technical ability. She almost plays like a guy out there. She watches quite a bit of professional soccer and tries to imitate what they do out there and has success at it. She's a real student of the game and it's paid off."
Wilson has already scored a pair of goals from outside the 18-yard box for MC this season. As if her ability to play anywhere wasn't enough to demonstrate her versatility, she scored from range against Lick-Wilmerding with her natural right foot and beat Marin Academy from range with her left.
www.marinij.com/prepsports/ci_22826357/prep-girls-soccer-marin-catholics-wilson-drawing-interest