When it

comes to soccer in the area, there should be very few

surprises. However, 13 year-olds Katie Schulz and Kari

Quinn, both of Peachtree City, were very surprised and

honored by their most recent accolade.

The two

girls, both inside midfielders on the Peachtree City

Lazers and the Georgia Olympic Development program, were

selected to the Olympic Development Region Pool and will

head to the national trials camp next week.

The pool is

made up of 45 players from state olympic development

pools. Ten of the girls on this year's squad, including

Schulz and Quinn, came from Georgia.

The purpose

of the team is to identify potential youth national team

players and to have them face the top programs in both

the country and the world.

Each player

is expected to serve as a role model for young players

who aspire to improve their game and someday make a World

Cup team. The entire process serves to strengthen the

level of play on all national level teams.

This year's

camp will be held at the University of Montevallo in

Alabama. After working out for a full week, the girls

will have a break until the Thanksgiving holiday. Over

the holiday, the four region pool teams will meet in

Orlando, Fla. for more games and instruction.

The girls

are excited to be selected to play at a higher level.

They were also excited at the $600 Nike package that each

region player receives to bring to their region events.

Making it

to the region pool also serves as a credit to the

Peachtree City Lazer program. Lazer coach Jose Rivera was

the USOC Development Coach of the Year last year, and has

a long history of helping players maximize their

potential on and off the field.

"Both

Kari and Katie are can compete on the national team

level," said Rivera. "They are capable players

that learn as they go. They will continue to get better

as they play at higher levels."

Rivera has

a good nose for talent. His current Lazer team has seven

state pool players and should have several more this

fall. The team has been together for five years and has

won numerous championships and titles, often playing up

an age group. They have won seven of eight Athena

A-Division Championships and recently defeated the U-14

Athena Champs in the Pensacola Pensacola Invitational.

"Kari

and Katie's strength is the same strength that all of the

girls on the team have - it is their dedication to

the game," said Rivera. "They are tenacious,

they work a lot on their own and they are all extremely

coachable."

After

coming back from the national trials, Schulz and Quinn

will join their Lazer teammates to defend their title in

a tournament in Greenville. There is obviously a bright

future for all of the players on the Peachtree City

Lazers and that means a bright future for all the local

soccer fans as well.