Ben Hale, goalkeeper for Liverpool ’98 Boys Babel, coached by Boys Director Wilco Ravestijn, could never have imagined the opportunities that would come his way when he was encouraged by a friend to give ODP a try back in late 2009. After attending several tryouts over a few months span, Ben was chosen for the ‘98 boys ODP spring pool and later, the fall pool. Since then, he has attended many events and competitions. Almost immediately, he was given the opportunity to attend the 2010 US Youth Soccer Adidas Workshop “Art of Youth Goalkeeping” at the NTX State Soccer Association Semi-Annual General Meeting. There, he got to demonstrate goalkeeping maneuvers under the auspices of the Portugal National Teams Goalkeeper Coach Dan Gaspar. Throughout 2010 and the early summer of 2011, Ben trained with his NTX team and attended various ODP sub-regional events in preparation for the ‘98 boys Region III ODP Summer Camp in Alabama. Once he got the word he was chosen for the AL camp, he was pumped and ready to go! Not only did he get to travel “alone” with his team but more importantly, he was going to get to play competitive soccer with other ODP boys his age from Region III! Camp was amazing! Eat, sleep and play soccer! Ah! Could it get any better than this? And just when he thought it certainly could not, he was told as the camp was ending that he was selected to fly to California in late July to attend the U-14 boys’ National Team Identification Camp! When asked what he thought about his summer ODP experience so far, Ben said, “I was excited to be chosen for the Alabama camp. There were a lot of skilled players there and I had a great time. Being selected for USA’s National Player Pool is like a dream come true. I can’t wait to see what’s in store at the national camp!”