Winning has become the norm for Jeremy Izad this summer.
The 14-year-old West Sechelt youth was a standout for this year's U15 Super Y League Vancouver Whitecaps squad.
The team rolled through its regular season finishing with a record of 13-1 and clinched a berth in the Super Y North American Championships in Orlando, Fla. in November.
Izad, who plays midfield, scored three goals and added five assists for the team.
"To say I'm exciting about going to Florida is an understatement," Jeremy said. "This is a big opportunity. There will be lots of scouts down at this tournament. It's a good chance to show off our skills."
The Super Y League is part of the USL (United Soccer Leagues). This North American organization is the same league that the Whitecaps men (A-League) and women (W-League) play in. The Y League provides a professional environment for top youth players to train and compete in league competition on a weekly basis. The teams play in the northwest division and travel to play teams including Seattle, Portland, Abbotsford and Spokane.
The U15 squad is just one of four teams which have qualified for Florida.
In the Whitecaps' last weekend of the Super Y League season, played during the August long weekend, they swept a three-game Saturday series with FC United and then took five of six games on super Sunday in Abbotsford. The U15 boys have now joined the U13 boys and the U15 and U16 girls in winning championship berths.
It has been a super season for Whitecaps youth teams. In addition to potentially qualifying five of their seven teams to the Super Y championships, two teams went undefeated. The U16 girls went 12-0-2, and the U13 boys went a perfect 10-0. In all, the Whitecaps youth teams had an amazing record of 73 wins, 14 losses and five ties.
Jeremy's team is also heading to Florida on a 13-game winning streak. After losing their opening game, the squad reeled off 13 wins in a row.
"Sammi [Saundh], our coach, is just fantastic," Jeremy added. "He really put us through the paces and showed us what we had to do to win. We're really lucky to have such a great coach."
Jeremy also said losing that opening game provided a real wake-up call for the squad.
"We had just started to play together, and Portland is a really tough team," he said. "We used that loss as a building step. The long road trip also helped. It gave us a chance to get to know each other, to become friends. From then on, we really gelled together as a team."
Saundh is no stranger to Lower Mainland soccer fans.
He was leading goal scorer for the Whitecaps indoor team in 1980. He went on to star in the Major Indoor Soccer League where he led the Los Angeles Lasers in scoring. He was also a member of the Vancouver 86ers where he helped the team to four league championships in the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The U15 team has been given the month of August off and will resume training and preparations for Florida starting in September.
