"The example of Santa Margarita's top senior girls' players, goalie Peyton Trayer and forward Coral Fry, is perhaps the future. They helped the Eagles win the Southern Section Open Division championship as juniors. This season, they'll be playing for Santa Margarita this month until they leave in January to join their respective college programs - North Carolina and Tennessee. Each said seven recruits from their future college teams are also leaving high school early."
""For me, it's a huge advantage to go in the spring, start classes and get acclimated to the environment, get a semester ahead training with the team and do the strength and conditioning to be ready for my freshman season," Trayer said. Said Fry: "The higher level of training is going to help me so much by the time the college season comes around.""
"Under CIF rules, players can't play simultaneously on a club team and a high school team. There's also USA Soccer commitments in the middle of the high school season and many club teams are not letting students play both. For girls and boys, they are not allowed to try out with a pro team during their high school season."
Many Southern California high school soccer players increasingly juggle club, national, college and pro opportunities, leading to frequent absences from school teams and roster uncertainty. Top seniors like Peyton Trayer and Coral Fry plan to play through December and then leave in January to start college programs at North Carolina and Tennessee, joining other recruits who depart early. Players cite advantages such as acclimating to college life, advanced training and strength work. CIF rules restrict simultaneous club and high school play and forbid pro tryouts during the high school season, sometimes resulting in ineligibility when rules are violated.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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