Ariana Avila Verbally Commits to Fresno Pacific University

Posted On October 13, 2016 by PUSC

“It is hard to make choices that may change our lives for the better—to make choices that would move us further towards inner satisfaction.”  Catherine Pulsifer

“Upon my graduation, I have selected to play collegiate soccer for Fresno Pacific University. FPU is a small, private university where I can study Sports Management/Kinesiology and get to know many students and make friendships in a smaller close-knit environment. 

I have played soccer for twelve years, and through those years, my coaches have taught me to always give 110% during practices and games and how to be a better soccer player on and off the field. A big thank you to my first coach Danny Cruz for picking me out of the bunch and taking me to comp soccer; thank you to my high school coach Mary Claire Robinson for believing in me and giving me the nudge of confidence.  And lastly, thank you to all of my Placer coaches, Chris Alcala, Gene DuChateau, Bart Morefield, Todd DeCarlo and Ron Benjamin. 

The most exciting part of college soccer is my new FPU coach Rob Podeyn. Coach Podeyn brings an abundance of experience to help me take my soccer to the next level. He has a long resume of coaching at the elite level in the US, Netherlands and with the Brazilian Women’s National U17 team. He has also just released his sixth book on coaching soccer.

I’d like to thank my family the most because they helped me get to the level I am today as a soccer player and as a person.” — Ariana Avila, Placer United 98G Gold