Moreland, Updegrove honored

Carson High freshmen Blake Moreland and Adam Updegrove have been named to the Nevada State Olympic Development Program soccer team.

Both players will represent Nevada in the Sports Source Showcase and Combine Dec. 2-4 in Dallas.

The Olympic Development Program, also known as ODP, is a national identification and development program for high level players. The program identifies and develops youth players throughout the country to represent their state, region and the nation in soccer competition.

The top players statewide combine to form one team that competes against other state ODP teams nationwide. Moreland and Updegrove were both honored with playing for the Nevada OPD team last spring are only two of three players chosen from Northern Nevada to play in Dallas. The other is Reno's Sergio Mercado.

The Dallas Showcase is for older players, but the Nevada team produced such a high level of play at the regional ODP camp, that it was accepted into the tournament to compete against older players.

More than 250 college scouts and coaches will attend the showcase. The players will receive three training sessions with leading college coaches and play three games in front of college representatives. Between training sessions and games, the players will attend classroom seminars on college entrance requirements, scholarships, academics and college planning.

"We're really excited to be honored like this," Updegrove said. "Our ODP team is one of the best around and it's really great playing with the best soccer players in the state. This showcase will be difficult, but it's an awesome soccer experience."

"Adam and I played together in an ODP tournament in Utah last spring and we won every game," Moreland said. "Then we went undefeated at the ODP regional camp in July. To have the Dallas showcase select us to play against the older ODP teams is an honor."

Moreland and Updegrove participated in several tryout sessions in Reno and Las Vegas to be chosen for the Nevada ODP team. Both will also play in the spring for Kevin Updegrove's under-166 Capital Soccer team.