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Heading to higher ground

A talented senior honed her skills with off-season stints on a national team and a United Soccer League squad.

By BRYAN BURNS
Published November 10, 2006

Bloomingdale High School midfielder Marissa Kazbour is a household name in local soccer.

A three-year captain for the Bulls, she shrugged off a nagging hamstring injury early last season and was named the St. Petersburg Times player of the year after registering 20 goals and six assists and leading her team to the Class 5A state finals.

But two off-season experiences - she trained and played with both the U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team and the United Soccer League's New Jersey Wildcats - should have the Florida State-bound senior playing at a higher level this season.

And that could spell even more headaches for defenders.

Following Bloomingdale's playoff run in February, Kazbour and 23 other players from around the country joined the U.S. Under-17 team's training camp in Carson, Calif. She made her match debut against Germany, a game the U.S. won 3-2.

"The huge difference with the national team is the team speed," she said. "You don't get many touches there, and you have to think faster. It's a different mind speed. Everything has to be precise because their skills are all at the highest level. My dribbling might be good right now for a 17-year-old, but for the national team, it's not up to par."

Kazbour also joined the under-17 squad for a training camp in Florida in April and made two more game appearances in September, starting one against the U.S. under-16 girls national team.

"Mentally, you have to go in tough," Kazbour said of the experience. "That's what I learned most. If you have a bad practice, you've got to get over it because there are two more later that day. You always have to play at a high level."

In between under-17 competitions, Kazbour got a mini-tryout with the New Jersey Wildcats of the USL W-League, the top women's soccer league in the country, on the recommendation of her future coach at FSU, Mark Krikorian.

And with the Wildcats decimated by injuries as the season drew to a close, Kazbour jumped onto the roster for the final three weeks of the season and was used as a substitute in two games, playing alongside the likes of Formiga, a veteran of the Brazilian National Team with three World Cups and three Olympics to her credit.

"Playing day in and day out, they'll teach you a lot," Kazbour said. "(Formiga's) as crafty as anybody I've played with. I tried to learn as much from her and the rest of the players as I could."

Bloomingdale head coach Sue Peet can already see the difference in Kazbour's game.

"She sees things that she didn't see as much before, and she has new ideas that she can bring to her teammates," Peet said. "Marissa brings a lot of experience. She's played with a lot of very good players. She has a lot of energy and passion, which she's had since her freshman year."

All the playing experience will undoubtedly help Kazbour in her ultimate dream of becoming a member of the U.S. women's national team.

"I don't care if it's three years from now, or five years or 10," she said. "I just want to make it."

Whether that experience will translate into a state title for the Bulls, an accomplishment that has eluded Kazbour, remains to be seen.

[Last modified November 9, 2006, 11:14:10]