Cortland Standard .net

By TOM VARTANIAN
Staff Writer
GROTON – While most just dream of getting away from the cold Central New York weather, one Groton Central sophomore will be doing just that.
Sidney Reeves is one of 18 girls selected to be part of New York State West Youth Soccer Association’s first-ever Olympic Development Program to compete for the ODP National Championship in Arizona.
Reeves and her teammates won the Region I tournament June 6-8, 2014 in Trenton, New Jersey, with a perfect 3-0 record while out-scoring their opposition 10-1. As Region I champions, New York West will face Region II champion Illinois in the semifinals. Region III’s Florida and Region IV’s Cal-South will be the other semifinal squads competing in the ODP Final Four at Reach 11 Sports Complex that runs Friday through Sunday in Phoenix.
“It’s unbelievable to be one of 18 girls going to Phoenix,” said Reeves who plays center midfield or forward fr the NYW squad.
“We are very proud of her,” said Reeves’ father, Eric. “Her grandparents — my parents — go to nearly every game she plays. We all watched her grow from that little snot-nosed kid to the outstanding athlete she’s become. She continues to get great grades and has great manners. Sidney has truly become a great person.”
Soccer is the lone sport for Reeves at Groton as she now concentrates on playing in the fall for the Indians with the rest of her time either with the NYW ‘99 Girls ODP or her club team in Syracuse Developmental Academy. She is a three-time Interscholastic Athletic Conference North Division all-star and the Indians’ team MVP last fall.
There’s just not time to play another sport outside of soccer for Reeves, with the club team and NYW obligations. The SDA coaching staff includes Dryden High girls head coach Janine Bennett and former Homer Central girls’ coach Jim Baranello.
Reeves started playing ODP soccer in sixth grade and she has made the team every year since. She has been a member of the Groton varsity team since seventh grade. Reeves never was really part of the local youth soccer programs as her dreams were bigger and took her to the club route.
“All my friends were playing soccer in school,” Reeves said of getting her start in the sport. “From there we did find different club teams.
“Sidney was one of two kids way back when in school we could take the ball from one end of the field to the other with 15 kids not being able to touch her,” Eric Reeves said “We realized Sidney had some natural talent so we began looking a club soccer. She started playing club soccer in Lansing, then Cortland, back to Lansing and now in Syracuse. You have to go where the better competition is and that is Syracuse.
“If you have any hope to play Division I soccer in college ou really need club soccer,” he added. “It’s the same in basketball. Those kids in AAU programs get that extra level of competition to keep getting better. Don’t get me wrong, there are good boys teams in our area, but there are very few all-star girls’ teams. If you want to be seen by colleges, you need a club team where soccer is serious competition. This is the caliber team that Sidney needs to play on.”
What is the commitment for the player and the parents like?
“It’s amazingly difficult,” Eric Reeves said about the logistics of playing club soocer and having two daughters (Sidney and younger sister Lauren) involved. “Sidney’s time has included playing a tournament in Washington (DC) this past weekend (Feb. 13-15). Next is Phoenix and then there’s a tournament in Virginia before beginning play in the New England Premier League where the closest weekend games will be in Albany. Every other game in that league is up in the New England states.
“You can’t begin to describe the expenses,” he added. The motels, the travel, the meal, the miles on the car. That doesn’t include Sidney’ personal expenses like cleats, uniforms and just every day stuff. We also spend three to four nights a week in Syracuse where the hour and a half practices end around nine o’clock, then the trip home and homework for school until midnight or one o’clock. Sidney does all that and still maintains a 94 average. It’s tough, especially in snow like this season. It’’s certaining tough.”
“It certainly is a lot of work, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Sidney Reeves stated. “Going to Syracuse means everything to me.”
Reeves has seen improvements in her abilities with the addition of the SDA and NYW.
“My personal skills have improved,” she said. “My ball handling, passing, quickness and how I see the field. I can read what is happening better.
“Playing high school games is easier overall,” Reeves added. “It’s easier skill wise, but harder because my teammates don’t play year around so you don’t always have that same chemistry.”
While Reeves soccer skills have improved, so have her life skills.
“You do grow up a little faster this way and you really learn time management,” Reeves said. “My peers in school are still great friends.”
“She has kids that look up to her,” Eric Reeves added. “They know she is trying to do something special. She still finds time to do things with them when she can. She also has that new set of friends on the team. They do go to movies together when they are on the road. It is a good experience.”
There are even difference from the club level to ODP.
“Most anybody can make a club team,” Sidney Reeves said. “You have to be committed to go to practice and play the games.
ODP take the best players from the region and the club teams. Everyone then competes for a spot on one of the teams,” she added.
Reeves has 11 teammates on the ODP team from SDA, including her coach Mike McQuatters.
“The competition is going to be to great,” Sidney Reeves said of the tournament. “The games are going to be tough. This will have 72 of the best soccer players in the country (18 on each team from the four regions).”