Skylah Dias and Jacob Castro from Swansea will be trying out again for the U.S. National Team

They made the Region I Futsal Select team this summer and then — when it came to take the next step — midfielder Skylah Dias failed to make the U.S. U-14 National team due to injury and goalkeeper Jacob Castro, both from Swansea, was selected as an alternate. For many that would be the end of their dreams, but for these two talented players that was merely the first step in what they hope is a golden trip, a journey to national acclaim. This fall both were scouted and both answered the bell as once again they were selected to make the Region 1 team. They are two of only 12 players from the East Coast to get a call to go to Olathe, Kansas, sometime in February, and fight for a spot on the U.S. National team. “We were scouted during the season, but I’m not sure why we were selected, only that they saw us play and felt that we were good enough to make the team,” explained Dias. They went through “the ropes” last soccer season, when they had to endure a grueling try-out, held in Boston, back in October of 2013. They spent five exhausting days at the try-outs, a stamina challenging affair that consisted of three workout sessions per day, basically a daily testing battle as only the best survived to move on to the following day. Last year, the final candidates came from all of the states affiliated with Region 1 — all six New England states, Delaware, Eastern New York, Western New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia, D.C., as well as Florida and even some who had traveled from the Bahamas. This time around Dias and Castro were invited — along with 48 other players — to go to Mansfield and scrimmage, so that U.S. Futsal National Team Head Coach Keith Tozer could monitor them and evaluate which players had enough talent to eventually make the national team. It was a fierce four-day combine, which included three workouts per day, and streamlined the numbers so that only the best fit and skilled players made it to the next level. Both Dias and Castro became Massachusetts U-14 State Champions in the summer as members of the GPS Massachusetts Crusaders Elite Team, but had to take different routes this fall since the premier team, once the players reach high school age, plays only in the spring. Dias enrolled at Joseph Case High School, in Swansea, Castro chose Bishop Connolly in Fall River. As starting freshmen on their high school teams, the two boys took their lumps, but they firmly believe that the experience will help them become better players. “It was fun, even though we did not win many games, but I got to play a lot and learned quite a bit from (Case High) coach (Steve) Manteiga, I enjoyed it,” Dias said. “In terms of adjustment, I’d say the biggest challenge was getting used to the way the team (Bishop Connolly) played, which was totally different (from the GPS Massachusetts Crusaders Elite Team),” Castro added. “I also found it more difficult to play against players that were bigger, taller and stronger. It was more challenging going for crosses into the box because I crashed against bigger players.” “The major difference between playing against kids your own age and in high school, where I was freshman and many teams had mostly seniors on the team, kids who were three, sometimes four years older than me, was the physical side,” Dias pointed out. “They were stronger and could push me around so that took some adjusting to. But as the season went on, I adjusted. I didn’t mind, I actually enjoyed it, because it’s probably going to help me in the long run.” These challenges, facing bigger, stronger opponents should prove helpful when the two local players make the trip to Kansas to fight for a spot on the U.S. National team. “It will help me in the long run because it helped me learn to play against, bigger, stronger players,” Castro said. Dias was the starting center midfielder as a freshman at Case High and was selected to the Southeastern Massachusetts All-Star Team, thanks to the 2 goals and 10 assists that he knotted during the season, while Castro, also a freshman, was the starter as well at Bishop Connolly and was also selected to the Southeastern All-Star Team, thanks to what evaluators suggested as saving over 50 goals for the season, and two penalty shots in the post-season MIAA tournament, which helped Connolly advance in the playoffs. Now that the high school season is over, Dias and Castro will once again become team mates with the GPS Massachusetts Crusaders Elite Team and will be heading to Florida for the Christmas break to compete in the top College Soccer Tournament in the Country at The Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World. This will give them additional exposure before some of the top college coaches in the country, as they will face some of the best teams in the U.S., which should improve the possibility of becoming Division 1 collegiate prospects. Read more: http://ojornal.com/portuguese-brazilian-news/2014/11/skylah-dias-and-jacob-castro-from-swansea-will-be-trying-out-again-for-the-u-s-national-team/#ixzz3KNY75XUr A GateHouse Media, Inc. Site Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial Follow us: @Ojornal1 on Twitter | OjornalNewspaper on Facebook

Made the US Youth Futsal Northeast Region 1 U16 Team

Was advised that I made the US Youth Futsal Northeast Region 1 U16 Team. I will head to Kansas in July of 2015 to try out for the U16 Futsal National Team.