CARY, N.C. – The Carolina RailHawks welcomed two U-18 CASL Chelsea Academy players to training this week.
Midfielder Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler and forward Monbo Bokar spent time working out with the team this week ahead of reporting to their respective university teams next month.
Vandermaas-Peeler, of Raleigh, and Bokar, of Durham, are headed to North Carolina and North Carolina State, respectively. Prior to their time at CASL, Vandermaas-Peeler also played for Triangle Futbol club, and Bokar played for Triangle United.
“Having seen the CASL U-18 team in training and playing, I know they’re very good,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “It’s nice for us to have some of their players out here and I hope they enjoyed it. They certainly did well. They’ve got a lot of potential. Hopefully, being a part of a professional organization for a little while will help them see the standard that they need to attain in order to become professionals themselves.”
Both players were gracious for the opportunity to train in a professional setting with the RailHawks.
“It was a good opportunity. I was kind of nervous when I got here, but they made me feel at home,” Bokar said. “I struggled at the beginning, but toward the end, I felt like I played pretty well. It definitely will help me a lot, and I want to thank the RailHawks for letting me come out.”
Vandermaas-Peeler came in hoping to equate himself well with players who were a lot more experienced and much bigger than he.
“I wanted to prove I’m supposed to be here,” he said.“I thought I did well. The guys are pretty big, so I’ve just got to keep working. To be able to train at a higher level, even for a couple days, really helps me going into the preseason at Carolina.”
Vandermaas-Peeler and Bokar led CASL Chelsea Academy to a fourth-place finish in the U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy finals earlier this month. CASL went 19-3-3 during the regular season and won their group at nationals before finishing fourth overall. Vandermaas-Peeler finished the Developmental Academy season with five goals, and Bokar led the team with 24.
Both players experienced massively productive senior seasons for their respective high schools last fall, as well. Vandermaas-Peeler was the 2010 N.C. Gatorade Player of the Year at Raleigh’s Athens Drive High, which he led to the 4-A state semifinals. He finished the season with 27 goals and 15 assists.
Bokar led Durham’s Jordan High to an undefeated 4-A state championship season, in which he had 22 goals and 12 assists. In the championship game at N.C. State’s Dail Soccer Stadium, he had a goal and an assist in the Falcons’ 2-0 win.
“Part of my responsibility is to give some of our top players a chance to train with professionals,” said Rusty Scarborough, CASL’s director of coaching and the Academy team’s head coach. “Monbo and Cooper are players we know have the ability to perform and train and have the mental capacity to be a part of a professional environment. For them as individuals and for CASL, it’s big that they can go and have an experience like that and be exposed to a higher level of play they’re not accustomed to.”
CARY, N.C. – The Carolina RailHawks welcomed two U-18 CASL Chelsea Academy players to training this week.
Midfielder Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler and forward Monbo Bokar spent time working out with the team this week ahead of reporting to their respective university teams next month.
Vandermaas-Peeler, of Raleigh, and Bokar, of Durham, are headed to North Carolina and North Carolina State, respectively. Prior to their time at CASL, Vandermaas-Peeler also played for Triangle Futbol club, and Bokar played for Triangle United.
“Having seen the CASL U-18 team in training and playing, I know they’re very good,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “It’s nice for us to have some of their players out here and I hope they enjoyed it. They certainly did well. They’ve got a lot of potential. Hopefully, being a part of a professional organization for a little while will help them see the standard that they need to attain in order to become professionals themselves.”
Both players were gracious for the opportunity to train in a professional setting with the RailHawks.
“It was a good opportunity. I was kind of nervous when I got here, but they made me feel at home,” Bokar said. “I struggled at the beginning, but toward the end, I felt like I played pretty well. It definitely will help me a lot, and I want to thank the RailHawks for letting me come out.”
Vandermaas-Peeler came in hoping to equate himself well with players who were a lot more experienced and much bigger than he.
“I wanted to prove I’m supposed to be here,” he said.“I thought I did well. The guys are pretty big, so I’ve just got to keep working. To be able to train at a higher level, even for a couple days, really helps me going into the preseason at Carolina.”
Vandermaas-Peeler and Bokar led CASL Chelsea Academy to a fourth-place finish in the U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy finals earlier this month. CASL went 19-3-3 during the regular season and won their group at nationals before finishing fourth overall. Vandermaas-Peeler finished the Developmental Academy season with five goals, and Bokar led the team with 24.
Both players experienced massively productive senior seasons for their respective high schools last fall, as well. Vandermaas-Peeler was the 2010 N.C. Gatorade Player of the Year at Raleigh’s Athens Drive High, which he led to the 4-A state semifinals. He finished the season with 27 goals and 15 assists.
Bokar led Durham’s Jordan High to an undefeated 4-A state championship season, in which he had 22 goals and 12 assists. In the championship game at N.C. State’s Dail Soccer Stadium, he had a goal and an assist in the Falcons’ 2-0 win.
“Part of my responsibility is to give some of our top players a chance to train with professionals,” said Rusty Scarborough, CASL’s director of coaching and the Academy team’s head coach. “Monbo and Cooper are players we know have the ability to perform and train and have the mental capacity to be a part of a professional environment. For them as individuals and for CASL, it’s big that they can go and have an experience like that and be exposed to a higher level of play they’re not accustomed to.”
