Here is the Players To Watch Team of the Month in August for the South region (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee).

Remember, this feature is to honor top performers in their region over the past month or so and across the span of age groups. There will be a boys' list and a girls' list, and a new region will be covered every weekday, Tuesday through Friday of each month. You can submit nominations at [email protected] .

Following is the Boys List, in no particular order.

Alex Pratt, Tennessee Rush 93 U18 (TN): Pratt was named the 2011 West Tennessee Offensive Player of the Year. Alex will being playing soccer for Union University this fall.

Michael Swift and Hayden Whitley, Tennessee Rush 97 U14 (TN): Both boys were selected to travel with the 97 Tennessee State ODP team to Guadalajara, Mexico in July.

Anesuishe Raranje, TSC 94 Black U17 (OK), Forward: Raranje was leading scorer for his TSC team in the US Youth National Championships. Both goals came in the teams 3-1 victory over Florida Rush Nike.

Whitney Gonsalves, Oklahoma Texans SC, U14 (OK), Forward: Invited to attend the US Soccer Boys U14 Identification Camp July 31-Aug. 6 at the National Training Center.

Tanner Dieterich, Brentwood Premier U14, (TN), Defender: Dietrich has been invited to attend the US Soccer Boys U14 Identification Camp July 31-Aug. 6 at the National Training Center.


Following is the Girls List, in no particular order.

Elizabeth Keester, Hurricane FC 95 Shubert U16 (OK), Forward: Keester had a more than impressive showing at the 2011 US Youth National Championships scoring 5 of her teams 9 goals on the tournament. This standout performance earned her the coveted Golden Boot Award.

Anna Beffer, Hurricane FC 95 Shubert U16 (OK), Winger: Her tenacious and feisty style of play was impressive throughout the entirety of the US Youth National Championship. With the game on the line, Beffer buried one home in the 73rd minute of the final match against the eventual U16 champion, Sting '95.

Kaela Little, Hurricane FC 95 Shubert U16 (OK), Keeper: Little's strong presence in between the pipes throughout her Hurricane teams' 4 games in the US Youth National Championship tournament earned her the Golden Glove award.

Jennifer Westendorf, GSA U14, (AL), Defender: Hailing from Alabama, Westendorf will be headed to the U14 US National Identification Camp in Portland, OR on July 31-August 7, 2011. The forward will be in good company as two of her GSA teammates, Ella Stevens, Emma Carlson will be in attendance the camp too. Jennifer is a stand-out player on their GSA Phoenix team and played a critical role in the teams' Georgia State Cup Championship this year.

Ainsly Wolfinbarger, TSC Hurricanes U14 (OK), Central Midfielder: After a strong showing at the Region III ODP Identification camp earlier this summer Wolfinbarger earned herself a spot at the U14 US National Identification Camp in Portland, OR on July 31-August 7, 2011.

Toni Payne, Concorde Fire U17, Birmingham, Ala: The Birmingham, Alabama native was invited to attend the U17 WNT training camp from Aug. 21-29 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The camp will feature two full international matches against Japan.

Aarthi Namasivayam, VHSC Attack 99 Black U13, Forward: The forward scored 6 of the team's 19 goals in their 4 games at the Liberty Cup Elite Challenge. Namasivayam found success throughout the weekend by putting a high level of pressure on the defense with her tenacious speed and agility.

Julia Freeman, VHSC Attack 99 Black U13, Defender: Played an intricate part of her VHSC Attack 99 Black team's defense, which did not allow a goal throughout all four games of the Liberty Cup Elite Challenge. Freeman had 1 goal on the weekend in addition to the penalty kick she took in Attacks penalty kick-shootout victory in the finals against United FA 99 Elite from Georgia.


PLAYERS TO WATCH RANKINGS:

Boys Top 100: 2012 | 2013

Girls Top 100: 2012 | 2013

Regional Top 20: Boys | Girls

You can also track our 192 regional and 12 national standings for TeamRank, our one of a kind seasonal rankings competition.

TEAMRANK RANKINGS: Boys | Girls