Teenager is the only eastern Idahoan recruited to ‘prestigious’ soccer league this year
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IDAHO FALLS — A local teenager will represent eastern Idaho this year as she travels across the country playing soccer.
Marisol Stosich, 14, is an eighth-grader at Black Canyon Middle School. She started playing soccer at 8 years old, and for the past three years, she’s been part a national soccer program called the Olympic Development Program (ODP). But recently, she was recruited to play as a member of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), which is the top level of soccer competition and player development in the country, according to the organization’s website.
Lauro Vazquez is Stosich’s private coach and head coach of the local soccer team she plays on with The Renegades Football Club. He said Stosich is the only soccer player in eastern Idaho to be part of an ECNL team this year that’s based out of Boise.
“This is another great opportunity. I’m super excited and grateful for it,” Stosich said. “I’m glad I can take this big opportunity and (raise) my soccer level.”
The ECNL is a “very prestigious league,” according to Vazquez. He mentioned that scouts for national soccer teams and college recruiters will be present at ECNL games.
“(There are a lot) of tournaments she gets to do where she has over 150 universities looking at some of her games,” he said. “She is in a tremendous spot right now.”
Vazquez is not surprised Stosich was chosen to be on the ECNL. He told her when they first started working together roughly two years ago, she deserved to be playing at the level of competition the ECNL offers. The two of them made a goal they would work together to make that happen.
“The first time I watched her play, I was completely blown away. Her talent is something I’ve never seen with someone at her age,” Vazquez explained. “She is beyond advanced, coachable and her work ethic is unmatched. She is always trying to get better.”
Stosich believes that her time with ODP and the Renegades helped her get to where she is today. She also credits her success to Vazquez for the hours that he’s spent helping shape her into a better soccer player.
“The key things to being a great athlete, in my opinion, are that you need to be strong mentally, determined, persistent, outgoing, hard worker, coachable and never wanting to give up,” she mentioned. “You will always be looking for ways to get better in any way you can.”
No matter where a person comes from, Stosich said if a person is constantly trying and doesn’t give up, they can accomplish “anything you want.” Vazquez said Stosich is living proof of this.
“She is a true leader in the way she works, performs and leads her team. I think anyone who has played alongside Marisol and has gotten to know her, would say she’s a tremendous person and tremendous athlete,” Vazquez said. “I think that’s why she is in the position that she’s in today, and doors are opening up for her because she is so special on and off the field.”