It was a banner year for local AYSO soccer teams: Not one but five Manhattan Beach/Hermosa Beach soccer teams won the AYSO Western States Championship in their respective divisions this year - a first even for this region of talented soccer players. 

The winning teams included two League teams - the 14U Girls "Sharks" and the 10U Girls "Jaguars" teams. Those teams began playing together in September, winning the local Beach Cup Championship, the Area 1D Tournament of Champions, the Section 1 Championship, and finally Western States.

"It is truly an achievement for our League teams to progress to Western States," said Krista Skinner, the regional commissioner for AYSO Region 18, serving Manhattan and Hermosa Beach. "We have only had three previous League champions since we started tracking in 2008."

The three other winning teams were All Star teams - 10U Boys All-Star "Black Mambas FC", 10U Girls All-Star "Storm", and 12U Boys All-Stars. These teams were formed after the end of the fall season and their journey included winning the Area 1D All Stars Tournament, Section 1 Championship and Western States Championship.

"This is truly a special accomplishment," said Skinner.

Also notable: Coach Chris Talbott (coach of the 14U Girls League team and the 10U Girls All Star teams), had a son who was on the 2019 12U Boys All Star team that won the Western States Championships. "I'm not sure that anyone else has three kids that have all won Western States," Talbott said.

This year's winning teams were honored at a Manhattan Beach City Council meeting last month.

The team names have also been added to the banner hanging at Marine Avenue Park with past champions.

The five winning teams, their coaches, and a few coaches' comments, are as follows:

Division: 14UG League
Team Name: Sharks
Coaches: Chris Talbott and Scott Steuber
Finishes: Region 18 Beach Cup 1st Place, Area 1D Tournament of Champions 1st Place, Section 1 League Championship 1st Place, Western States League 1st Place
Team Stats: 26-0-1 (undefeated)
Coach Notes: "All the girls were very close and had their own text thread going...they were always so happy to see each other every week at their practices and games. Each and every one of them treated each other with respect and picked each other up in times of adversity."

Division: 10UG League
Team Name: Jaguars
Coach Names: Luke Myers and Anthony Wang
Finishes: Region 18 Beach Cup 1st Place, Area 1D Tournament of Champions 2nd Place, Section 1 League Championship 1st Place, Western States League 1st Place

Coach Notes: "During a championship game, our team took a hard shot that struck an opposing player in the midsection. As the ball rolled in front of the goal, with three of our players in a position to score, each player on our team instead ran to the girl who had just been hit, as she laid on the ground. They all dropped to one knee surrounding the girl, asking if she was OK, and waited for her to catch her breath. All the while, the referee had not blown the whistle, and the ball sat in five feet from the goal, still in play, and completely ignored, while our players tended to their opponent."

Division: 10UB All Stars
Team Name: Black Mambas F.C.
Coach Names: James Mosier and Geoff Ludwig
Finishes: Area 1D All Stars Tournament 1st Place, Section 1 All Stars Championship 1st Place, Western States All Stars 1st Place

Coach Notes: "The entire team went to the Monster Truck Jam in Anaheim after the Area
Championship, creating a great bonding experience."

Division: 10UG All Stars
Team Name: Storm
Coach Names: Chris Talbott and Nikki Killman
Finishes: Area 1D All Stars Tournament 1st Place, Section 1 All Stars Championship 1st Place, Western States All Stars 1st Place

Coach Notes: "The girls asked me to do the worm after Western States championship but they
tricked me and dumped water on me."

Division: 12UB AllStars
Coach Names: Tim Harris, Andrew Werhane
Finishes: Area 1D All Stars Tournament 1st Place, Section 1 All Stars Championship 1st Place, Western States All Stars 1st Place

Coach Notes: "The team held their very first practice on December 4. Light rain was in the forecast, but the players got drenched by persistent rain through the session. At the end of the practice, Coach Harris laid out the goal to win the Western States Championship and every player bought in and committed to do what it would take for the team to accomplish that goal. Throughout the season, the team would continue to reflect back on that moment in the rain, never wavering from their ultimate goal or the commitment they made."

Also winning top honors in the Western States League were the 12U Boys "Not Blue" team (Coaches Adam Wright and Cassidy Olson), who won third place in their division; and the 14U Boys All Stars (Coaches Jimmy Orland and Luis Torres), who also won third place in their all-star division.

Region 19 AYSO (part of the all-volunteer national AYSO organization) provides a "fun, fair, and safe place" for almost 3,300 players to play soccer every year.

"That’s about 10% of the population of the Manhattan Beach that we engage in our program," said Skinner. "When you add in parents and spectators, that means we hold events for 5,000 to 7,000 people every weekend in the fall, and about half that again in the spring. It definitely keeps us busy."

The region operates with a board of directors of more than 40 volunteers, stepping up to help as division commissioners, referee administrators, and field managers among other positions. The board members help manage almost 1,000 volunteers annually - most being coaches and referees of the almost 500 teams that the region creates every year.