Soccer’s stars

Heat FC has become the go-to youth soccer club in Las Vegas.

This month, 22 players from the club’s top girls’ team — all of whom will graduate high school in June — signed letters of intent to play soccer this fall at colleges and universities across the nation.

The number for the entire club reached 24 when you count two boys who committed to different college programs recently.

Not bad for a club that has been around since 2003, operated as a nonprofit business and managed by a volunteer board of directors as a 501c3 organization.

David Merrill, a Las Vegas attorney who is the current president of the Heat FC board, said the idea behind the club has been to run programs that are affordable for families, even parents strained by the economy.

Heat, which is part of the Southern Nevada Soccer Association, operates a recreational league with about 2,500 youth participants. Costs per player start at $100, which covers uniforms and fees.

“We have teams with varying levels of development,” Merrill said. “Some kids dream of playing college soccer and some just enjoy the recreational aspect. Our board is dedicated to ensure that we meet those goals.”

Heat’s higher-cost competitive program has almost 900 players with multiple teams at all age levels. The top teams, which participate in the Elite Clubs National League, or ECNL, travel to play clubs in California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

But also the players gain exposure to college coaches who follow ECNL and the various showcase tournaments, such as the recent Las Vegas Mayor’s Cup.

“There is a cost associated for ECNL, but the parents understand that fact going in,” Merrill said. “Most of the age groups have second and third teams.”

Heat ‘95 Girls team, coached by Las Vegas attorney Tom Amick, Amanda Schmutz and Vincent Magliulo, an executive with Las Vegas Dissemination Co., established an exposure level for the program.

“One of the most rewarding characteristics of this group is how they lead by example,” Magliulo said. “The way they train and compete provides leadership to our younger players.”

Amick, who has sent dozens of female soccer players from Las Vegas to college teams over the years, said the goal is to place players “at the right college where they can pursue their dream of getting an education and play a sport they have dedicated themselves to over the years.”

Merrill said the team, which is sending players to collegiate soccer powerhouses such as the University of North Carolina and UCLA, helped establish the club’s reputation with the women’s soccer community.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.

The players that signed are: Jeremy Allen with Adams State (Colorado); Courtney Anderson and Dakota Blazak with UNLV; Ashlee Beckwith and Alexa White with the University of North Dakota; Melissa Canizalez with New Mexico State; Kealani Chaidez, Taylor Neubecker and Breana Ray with Rogers State (Oklahoma); Jenna-Kaya Charles, Meghan Cordero and Mariah Olive with Texas A&M Corpus Christi; Kaitlyn Fahrner with the University of Oklahoma, Alyssa Gomez with Southern Utah University; Lauren Kaskie with UCLA; Tara LeBaron with California State University Fullerton; Lynsey Ng with Iowa State; Dominique Romero with the University of North Carolina; Brandy Sanchez with Montana State; Isabella Sorrentino with the University of San Diego; Zoey Stephenson with Lamar University (Texas); and Ayana Williams with Tyler Junior College (Texas).