THE SPOTLIGHT SHINES ON CAL SOUTH’S BEST
AT THE 2008 NIKE AWARDS BANQUET

January 10, 2008 (Los Angeles, CA) – Anxious to see who would be honored among Cal South’s best and brightest, nearly six hundred attendees packed into the main ballroom of the Los Angeles Wilshire Grand for the 2008 Nike Awards Banquet on Saturday night, January 5th. Produced annually in conjunction with Soccer Nation Expo, the Nike Awards Banquet is Cal South’s opportunity to honor those who have done the most in bringing to life Cal South’s motto, “Excellence in Youth Soccer.”

Hosted by Fox Soccer Channel’s Max Bretos, the show featured appearances by numerous soccer luminaries such as Alfredo Tena of Club America; Neel Shah of Major League Soccer; Tony Farrell of Everton FC; David Sternberg, Executive Vice-President and General Manager of Fox Soccer Channel; Patrick Escobar, Executive Vice-President of the LA84 Foundation; Esse Baharmast, Director of Officials for the US Soccer Federation, and Jolene Nielson, Region IV Director for US Youth Soccer. Representatives from many of Cal South’s sponsors and partners attended the show as well.

Following dinner and cocktails, the festivities were kicked off by a rousing version of the National Anthem sung by Dominic Domingo, grandson of the world-famous tenor, Placido Domingo, after which awards were handed out to nearly three dozen most-deserving members of the Cal South family. One major highlight of the show was a memoriam for two of Cal South’s fallen heroes, the late Mick Dawson and Heros Baghoumian, a presentation which brought the room justly to tears. Other highlights included a special presentation for the three teams that won US Youth Soccer National Championships last summer: the GU15 So Cal Blues, the BU16 Real So Cal and the GU17 Eagles SC.

Cal South CEO John Weinerth took the opportunity to announce the latest of Cal South’s partnerships to the audience, bringing onstage Michelle Seward, president of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI). Bonding their message of tolerance and peace to that of Cal South, Seward introduced the initial members of the Cal South Human Rights Youth Council, a group of Cal South players which will serve as an advisory board to spread this message further to all corners of the organization. Each member wore a special t-shirt, which sported on each back one of the thirty basic human rights championed by YHRI.

Cal South would like to thank the sponsors of this year’s show: Nike, Fox Soccer Channel and Sport Pins International for helping bring about such a successful show. Cal South would also like to congratulate this year’s winners and nominees, and thank everyone for attending the 2008 Nike Awards Banquet.

2008 NIKE AWARDS BANQUET WINNERS AND NOMINEES