Photo courtesy of Hoover-Vestavia Soccer Club.
Hoover-Vestavia Soccer Club seniors and coaches on signing day at the Liberty Park Soccer Complex on April 10.
After a year of playing boys youth soccer at the highest level in MLS NEXT, a national youth soccer league, more than a dozen high school seniors in the Hoover-Vestavia Soccer Club have received scholarships to play in colleges across the country, seven of them going to D1 schools.
The Hoover-Vestavia Soccer Club had 17 seniors play college soccer last year, which was the club’s first year after the two cities merged their soccer programs, said Mike Getman, director of coaching for HVS.
“Two years ago, Vestavia and Hoover joined together in a partnership to create Hoover-Vestavia Soccer,” said Carlo Schiavoni, head coach at Hoover-Vestavia Soccer Club. “The first year, we started in the NPL (National Premier League) which is U.S. Club Soccer. Last spring (after the spring season), we were given MLS Next status. On our boys side, our top teams are playing in MLS Next.”
This is the first year HVS has had their top boys teams compete in MLS NEXT, which is the highest level of youth soccer in the country, Schiavoni said.
Kaleb Jowers and Chase Tilashalski, two seniors from Hoover, have been playing soccer since they were 3-years-old.
Tilashalski comes from a family of soccer players. His sister and older and younger brothers also played, and his dad coached, he said.
“They let us pick any sport we wanted, but every kid just ended up playing soccer,” Tilashalski said. “Being a goalkeeper, a lot of people get their glory from getting a good goal, but I get my praise when I stop goals. It just makes me feel good.”
Jowers said his dad played soccer for UAB, and his mom ran track in college. He played soccer because his dad wanted him to but he ended up liking the game, he said.
Tilashalski and Jowers chose HVS over their high school soccer teams for different reasons.
“I think the competitiveness for MLS NEXT and the competition for your starting spot is a lot higher,” Jowers said.
Tilashalski said he chose HVS because he felt he could grow more as a player there.
“I recently had shoulder surgery last summer, so I didn’t get the amount of exposure that I would’ve liked, and I knew I wouldn’t get that exposure through high school, and I wouldn’t develop as well through high school,” Tilashalshi said. “I picked MLS NEXT to be the best player I could and be surrounded by a lot of great players and help myself get to the
next level.”
Jowers is set to play soccer at UAB, while Tilashaski will play for the University of Southern Indiana. Both also said they want to play soccer after they graduate college.
“I’m going to UAB, and they have a really good connection with Birmingham Legion,” Jowers said. “My goal is to go to UAB, get as good as I can there and then see where I can go.”
Tilashalski said that for his entire life, his goal has been to play at the highest physical level he can, and that level is constantly progressing.
“This has definitely become a lot more clear as I’ve gotten older,” he said. “Whatever opportunity comes up, I’ll probably take it. If I get an opportunity to play in Europe after college, I’m going to Europe. If I get an opportunity to play in the USL (United Soccer League), I’ll take the USL. It’s whatever I can do to be the best player that I can be.”
