By Dave Long

HUBER HEIGHTS | Like many incoming high school freshmen, Lisa Nouanesensgsy is anxious to know if she made the soccer team.

Only it isn't the girls varsity at Wayne High School she would like to know about. Her spot on that roster is pretty secure.

She's awaiting an e-mail, phone call, text message — any kind of communication — from USA Soccer to see if she made the roster for the United States girls 14-and-under (U14) national team.

She was one of 100 girls selected for the U14 national development camp held July 30 through Aug. 5 on the campus of Cal Poly-Pomona near Los Angeles. She was the only player from Ohio South Soccer (Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus) to make the national tryouts and one of two girls from the state. The other was Kori Chapic, who will be a freshman at West Geauga High School southeast of Cleveland.

It was the first experience for all the girls in a national camp environment.

"The whole experience was awesome," Lisa said. "Even if I don't make the team, I learned so much just being with all those girls who are so good. I'm not sure when they'll notify us if we made the team."

Family of players

Nouanesensgsy comes from a family of soccer players. Her father, Sam, played in his native Laos before fleeing the war-torn country to a refugee camp in Thailand. His family moved from Thailand to the Philippines and arrived in Huber Heights in 1981. After settling into the community and getting a job in the tool and die industry, Sam became involved with the Warrior Soccer Club, where he still coaches. His two sons, Tony and James, were both stars at Wayne High School.

"I used to go to all their games in high school, and we still kick the ball around together," Lisa said. "I learned a lot from them."

The selection process

Lisa began by making the Dayton District U14 Olympic Development team. That group played games against teams from Columbus and Cincinnati in tryouts for the Ohio South team.

After making the Ohio South team, she went to tryouts for USA Soccer Region II (an area that covers 14 Midwestern states) in DeKalb, Ill. She was one of 25 girls from Region II selected for national tryouts. A midfielder/forward, she impressed coaches with her passing skills, field vision and ability to finish around the goal.

"Everyone who was there was real nervous at first because they didn't want to make any mistakes," Nouanesensgsy said.

"We divided up into teams. In the morning, we went through all kinds of drills, and in the afternoon, we played games. After a couple of days, everyone loosened up, and it was really fun. You learn so much. I think the area that I improved in most was my passing."

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