Yellow Pages
MOUNT VERNON — Garrett Barber and Sergey Ptachik, who are friends and classmates at Mount Baker Middle School, often push each other to be better soccer players.
Now they’ve helped push each other toward an impressive accomplishment.
Barber and Ptachik just returned from the Olympic Development Program Regional Camp at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., where both were among only seven players from the state to be held over for a further look from coaches. Addionally, Ptachik was selected to the regional team that will play in Boston next month. That opportunity will offer him consideration to the national team for his age group.
Barber and Ptachik, who played together with the Skagit Storm and Northwest Nationals club teams, first tried out for and made the state team; from that team, 18 players from the state were selected to go to last week’s regional camp, which included 270 players from 14 states.
The camp offered high-level training and instruction and the chance to play against some of the best players in the region.
“It was very tough,” Barber said.
Ptachik agreed, adding, “It was very tough, especially playing against the teams from California.”
The players would have training in the morning and games in the evening, along with the chance to get to know players from the other regional states.
It’s uncommon for two players from the same county to advance so far in the ODP program; for two players from the same school, it’s even more rare.
Barber and Ptachik have known each other for years, playing on the same club teams and helping each other improve. Occasionally one will call the other with some good-natured bragging about how many consecutive times he had dribbled the ball off his foot or leg that day.
“They definitely compete and challenge each other to get better,” said Dave Barber, Garrett’s father, who has coached both players.
Neither player got much of a rest after returning from Oregon. The day after returning, each boy re-joined his club team.
Their first game was against each other.
