Academy Centre Players of the Month - December 2015

Whitecaps FC Academy Centres are a network of regional training hubs linked through key staff, curriculum, and standards that provide professional supplemental club training for serious, motivated players. Whitecaps FC currently have a network from British Columbia to Ontario, including locations in Kamloops, the Kootenays, London (Ontario), Manitoba, Northern BC, the Okanagan, Saskatchewan, Squamish, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island. For more information, visit whitecapsfc.com/academy and select the academy in your region.

Below are the Whitecaps FC Academy Centre Players of the Month for December 2015.

Name: 
Jake Dziwenka


Birth Year:
 2001


What his coaches say:
 "Jake has shown a true desire to learn within the month of December. His attention to the details of training has led to great results within the sessions. Jake has always been a highly motivated player, however this month he demonstrated a new level."

Name: Anelise Karakostas
Birth Year: 2000
What her coaches say: “Training within a group of players which also includes younger players, Anelise takes the learning objective of each session, and gives her best effort which brings her consistent growth. This fall has been a breakthrough phase for Anelise and I am certain that her continued presence in high level training environments has contributed to her positive training mentality and growth."

Name: 
Aaron Okano


Birth Year: 
2005


What his coaches say:
 "Aaron has been in our Kamloops program from the outset and has a great attitude and strives to be better every day. We have seen an amazing improvement in his play and feel he will only get better with his great attitude and work ethic."

Name: Jocelyn Orr
Birth Year: 2005
What her coaches say: "Jocelyn has been amazing from the start.  She has an outstanding work ethic and is not afraid to get into the mix - even with the older girls.  Her game gets better every day and she has a natural passion for the game which you see every time she is out on the field."

Name: 
Sophie Borhi


Birth Year: 
2001


What her coaches say:
“Sophie has been fantastic in the three years that she has been part of the Kootenay Academy. She is very good technicaly and has a real hunger to succeed. Sophie is moving to Vernon in the new year to be part of the TOFC BCSPL team. We are all very proud of her achievements." 

Name: Matthew Wouters
Birth Year: 2001
What his coaches say: “Mathew has had a very good year with the Whitecaps academy. He is very calm on the ball and makes good decisions. Having worked with Matthew for a number of years, his progression has been fantastic. He is a great player to coach."

Name: Logan Wright
Birth Year: 1999
What his coaches say: "Our 1999 boys team is playing in the London Men’s Indoor Premier League and is turning a lot of heads, and Logan has played a significant part in our very strong showing. Logan consistently uses his speed, technique, and ability to utilize quick combinations in tight spaces to create and finish many of our scoring opportunities and is becoming a crowd favorite in our games and a bright light in our academy with his consistent ability to train and perform at a very high level."

Name: Thalia Lievano
Birth Year: 2003
What her coaches say: "Thalia was one of a couple of girls that Natalie Lawrence from our Vancouver REX program identified as one of our HPP players to keep an eye on. Thalia absolutely dominates the midfield with her technique, vision, work rate, and physicality and has demonstrated an amazing consistency to perform at an extremely high level while also being an absolute pleasure to have in our academy."

Name: Ricky Gill
Birth Year: 2000
What his coaches say: "Ricky works extremely hard on a daily basis to improve himself as a player. This month he has really improved his ability to impact the game with his technical and physical abilities."

Name: Taylor Sousa
Birth Year: 2002
What her coaches say: "Taylor has a great enthusiasm about the game and training, she is a joy to work with as a player and person and has been playing at a very high level this month."

Name:
 Whitney Anderson


Birth Year: 
1999


What her coaches say:
 “Whitney has been with the program since the beginning. From the start of the phase to December she has made tremendous strides. Whitney has really started to take risks in training sessions which has allowed her to grow as a player. She is very comfortable in the environment and continues to improve."

Name:Andrew Mihis
Birth Year: 2003
What his coaches say: “Andrew is becoming a smart young soccer player and a better decision maker every week. In December, Andrew showed that being a leader is important in the game. Andrew is starting to push younger players to be better but also support them when things go wrong. This quality of Andrew's has really started to show in the past month."

Name:
Brandon Miranjie


Birth Year:
2002


What his coaches say:
“Brandon has been with with us for three years and has really grown into one of our leaders not just in his age group but when we have pulled him into the U-16 training as a HPP. He continually challenges himself with his approach to the information given by coaches, always competes above regular training standards. He is definitely an asset to have in our program. We look forward to watching Brandon grow as a player.”

Name: Mckenna Olsen
Birth Year: 1999
What her coaches say: “McKenna came to us two years ago and has been a major influence on the growth of our female prospects program. Her compete level, ability, and personality drives the players around her to a new standard. Mckenna travelled to Vancouver last march and was part of our Showcase Project and Showcase event.”