Philippe Blin, technical director of the Pleasanton Rage Soccer Club and head coach of the U18 Girls team, swears he's been given an out-of-this-world gift: 17-year-old forward Ahsha Smith .

"Ahsha is probably the best young player I have ever worked with." he says.  "She has amazing speed, which enables her to play both in the midfield and up as a forward" Blin, who has taught at the elite-youth and college level for more than 20 years, says.  "She is deadly with the ball and every time she's near the goal something special happens."

Ahsha is a 5-star ranked player and #5 nationally on the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Top 100™ list for 2009 grads.  She has participated in the U.S. U16 GNT camp and the adidas ESP program.  "Attending those camps was a great experience because they were so competitive," says Ahsha. "Everyone played at a high-level, and they were very fun to be a part of."

Ahsha has not been without setbacks.  She suffered a torn ACL in the early fall of 2007. "I just heard it pop," said Ahsha. "I was able to walk off the field and had no reason to think it was serious at first."  An MRI revealed otherwise. "It was very frustrating", says Ahsha. "Fortunately the recovery went well", says Blin, "and her rehabilitation schedule was capped with her commitment to UCLA." 

Ahsha's commitment to UCLA came as no surprise, as the school had been recruiting her since her sophomore year at Skyline. Although Ahsha spoke to coaches at Oregon and the University of San Diego, committing to UCLA was an easy decision to make.  "They have a great program" she says. "The coaches and players have been so nice, and it's hard to beat the location. UCLA had always been my main focus.  I'm so excited to go."

"Ahsha's fun to work with and she has an amazing ability to motivate those around her. Her positive attitude and unreal work ethic is what attracted college recruiters and allowed her to reach the top of her game just months after suffering the serious injury" says Blin

---

Go Back

Delicious

Digg

Facebook

StumbleUpon