The National Finals of the Sierra Mist MLS Dribble, Pass & Score(tm) competition, the largest national grassroots soccer skills competition in the country, were staged Saturday during the 2005 MLS Cup Weekend at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, TX. Two Bay Area youth soccer players were crowned national champions in their age group, as Amir Bashti of Menlo Park and Katie Hadfield of San Jose won and were honored by Kansas City Wizards midfielder Chris Klein with National Championship medals during halftime of MLS Cup 2005 on Sunday, November 13.
Bashti, 8, of Menlo Park, CA was the winner in the boys 8-9 division in his first ever season of DPS. The Force '95 Blue player hopes to emulate his favorite MLS players Craig Waibel and Pat Onstad on the soccer field, and also enjoys chess and backgammon.
Hadfield, 10, of San Jose, CA was the winner in the girls 10-11 age group. Also a first time DPS participant, the Santa Clara Sporting player made it from her local competition in Santa Clara, CA, all the way to MLS Cup 2005. Hadfield is a dedicated fan of the Earthquakes, and her favorite player, Pat Onstad.
The Sierra Mist MLS Dribble, Pass & Score(tm) program provides young players ages 6-14 the opportunity to test their skills in three basic areas: dribbling, passing and shooting. The 24 finalists from around the country earned an all-expense paid trip to Frisco for the National Finals after advancing past three previous levels of competition within their local markets. Upon emerging from Local and Sectional Competitions, they moved on to the Team Championship with the top four scorers nationwide in each age division winning the opportunity to compete in the DPS National Finals at MLS Cup 2005.
Sierra Mist recently finished its second year as the official sponsor of the MLS Dribble, Pass & Score(tm) (DPS) program. Since the program kicked off in 1998 as Dribble, Pass & Shoot, over one million youth soccer players have participated in the free competition designed to test core soccer skills. The name of the program was eventually altered to Dribble, Pass & Score, which sends the proper message about the ultimate objective of the sport of soccer: scoring goals.
Sierra Mist is the refreshing lemon-lime soft drink brand from Pepsi-Cola North America, an Official Sponsor of Major League Soccer since the League's inception in 1996. Sierra Mist, the title sponsor of the 2005 Sierra Mist All-Star Game, is also the annual presenting sponsor of the League's Goal of the Year Award, which honors the best goal-scoring effort in the regular season.
Digital images of the winners are available by calling or e-mailing Carly Chamberlin at 302.236.2370 or carly.chamberlin@mlsnet.com
