LJ g soccer: Bruner to train in Malaga, Spain

Senior Caroline Bruner, with her parents at

Senior Night Feb. 12. The defender is going to spend

an unusual "gap" year in training at the soccer

academy in Malaga, Granada, Spain next year

to prepare to play D1 soccer in the NCAA.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

The Viking seniors were introduced with their families Thursday night, Feb. 12, at Senior Night in Edwards Stadium, and half of Coach Austin Mobley's varsity roster paraded across the field from the Viking tunnel at the southeast corner of the turf.

That means that next year, Mobley again has a rebuilding project--much as he did a year ago, when many 12th-graders from the rotation moved on to their futures, leaving many empty positions to fill.

La Jolla's latest rebuilding project has gone well, with the Vikings going through the Eastern League season without a loss or tie. As they enter the CIF playoffs Tues., Feb. 17, they are in good shape and expected to play well in the postseason competition.

Announced during the Senior Night festivities was the fact captain/defender Caroline Bruner, who has starred for Mobley on defense and whose role has been expanded to moving into the midfield when scoring opportunities might present themselves, plans to move to Malaga, Granada, Spain after graduation in May to train at the prestigious Malaga City Academy.

Malaga sits on the Mediterranean coast, directly south of Madrid, Spain's capital, several hundred miles away.

This resembles the plan a year ago of former Viking Tahlia Zadeyan, who planned for a year at a soccer academy in Spain, to develop and train for a scholarship position on the University of North Carolina, I believe.

What was stated in the intros Thursday was that Caroline "hopefully" will attract an NCAA Division 1 offer after her preparation in Malaga. This is a little different from Zadeyan's situation, where an athletic scholarship was understood to having already been proffered by UNC, if the year in Spain went well.

Tahlia would also seem to have more international exposure, having played for the Armenian National Team program in the juniors during high school. She's a midfielder.

Bruner focuses on defense, and that would seem to be her forte.

*  *  *

The FC Malaga City Academy operates in Almunecar, near Malaga, in southern Spain. UEFA-certified  coaches help prepare a prospect to play at the professional level--in Caroline's case, at an NCAA Division 1 level.

The price is hefty: According to online sources, nine months for 24,550 Euros, approximately $29,146, considered a "full" academy season, and the cost goes down from there, pro-rated for the number of months.