POMONA, CALIFORNIA – It was just a light training session on the eve of the event getting underway in earnest.

But the real action going on at Mount San Antonio Junior College, host for the adidas ESP for Girls this year, may have been in the stomachs of the 100 top high school sophomores and freshmen on hand to perform before a huge gathering of DI college coaches this weekend.

On a lovely Southern California evening, the six teams formed for the event were working a bit on set pieces and otherwise just running the airplane air out of their bloodstreams, but some bonding was clearly taking place as evidenced by the lively banter among the girls and the near rock concert atmosphere emanating from the team vans at practice’s close (the bass level thankfully only goes to plus 10).

One of the six team coaches, UCLA assistant and former women’s national team player Shannon MacMillan, acknowledged that part of her early responsibility with the group is to get everyone relaxed and confident ahead of Friday’s opening matches.

“Basically my message to these guys is that they’ve been handpicked by adidas. They’re among the top players in the country and they should just come out here and enjoy it,” she said. “I tell them not to be nervous. They’re here for a reason. They all have incredible skill and talent and for them it’s just about coming out here and playing. Just because there’s 100 hundred college coaches sitting over there, the game doesn’t change. Once you step on that field, go enjoy yourself.”

While MacMillan knowingly laughed at the suggestion that her new pupils might feel justified with a retort of “easy for you to say,” she stressed that the players need to be proactive in dealing with their emotions, including any natural shyness.

“They’re pretty quiet now but my goal is to get them to relax. I told them ‘Somebody’s going to fall on their face and mess up. It’s alright,’” she said. “(Balancing team vs. individual showcasing) is a challenge for them. In the girls’ game they err more on the side of staying back in the pack. When I was trying to set up some set pieces I said ‘Who takes free kicks?’ and they kind of looked around. I said ‘Hey, these guys want to see someone put the ball down, take the free kick and drill it into the back of the net. They want to see center backs organizing.’ They all have it in them, but it’s hard for women to really take the lead like that. I told them that I don’t care if they hit it 50 yards over the goal, just make sure they can see them hit it like they meant it.”

ESP is for freshmen and sophomores to reflect the accelerated process of recruiting among the top college prospects. Most top juniors have already made verbal commitments. Macmillan expressed sympathy for the players feeling forced to begin making college decisions already.

“I think it’s tough. I think back to when I was a freshman and sophomore I had no clue what I wanted to do for college. But that’s the way the college game is going, younger and younger they are being recruited,” she said. “I just hope they are taking their time, going through the process and taking their trips and really doing their research, getting to know the head coach, talking to the team and really really doing their process because it’s a big decision. That’s probably the biggest decision those guys will have made in their life at that point and it’s an important one.”

The event resumes Friday morning with training. The first matches will be played Friday afternoon, with additional matches Saturday and Sunday morning and the event all-star game Saturday night. TopDrawerSoccer.com will cover each of the matches in print, plus feature video highlights and interviews from the three match days. A full recorded webcast of the all-star game, including commentary, will be available on the site next week.

Here are the 96 girls invited to ESP:

Emily Armstrong, Penn Strikers (PA)
Muriel Battaglia, Eclipse Select (IL)
Lia Bellizzi, Albertson SC (NY)
Lauren Bohaboy, So Cal Blues (CA)
Olivia Brannon, Novi Jaguars (MI)
Caroline Brawner, Crossfire Premier (WA)
Darby Broeker, Pleasanton Rage (CA)
Stephanie Bronson, CASL, (NC)
Maria Canicatti, Syosset SC (NY)
Jourden Casey, MSS Arsenal (NE)
Anna Cassell, Sparta United (UT)
Whitney Church, Loudoun SC (VA)
Kaysie Clark, KC Select (MO)
Danielle Colaprico, PDA (NJ)
Miranda Cornejo, San Diego Surf (CA)
Jessica Crowder, CASL (NC)
Paige Diamond, Pleasanton Rage (CA)
Liska Dobberstein, Charlotte SC (NC)
Meghan Dolan, St. Louis Scott Gallagher (IL)
Alexandra Doll, Bethesda SC (MD)
Caprice Dydasco, Honolulu SC (HI)
Britt Eckerstrom, Potomac SC (MD)
Lauren Flynn, St. Louis Scott Gallagher (MO)
Kelsey Foo, MVLA (CA)
Katie Gancedo, Los Angeles FC (CA)
Arin Gilliland, Lexington FC (KY)
Michelle Gonzales, Los Angeles FC (CA)
Jennifer Gonzalez, Arsenal FC (CA)
Shea Groom, KCFC Alliance (MO)
Natalie Hanson, Capital Athletic SA (CA)
Darcy Hargadon, Eclipse Select (IL)
Bryane Heaberlin, Clearwater Chargers (FL)
Stephanie Hepfer, Lonestar SC (TX)
Amber Hernandez, South Valley Chivas (CA)
Lexi Herring, Cape Fear SC (NC)
Jaylyn High, Cape Fear SC (NC)
Tracy Hong, Pleasanton Rage (CA)
Riley Houle, Oakwood SC (CT)
Megan Hunsberger, Fury Premier (PA)
Gabriele Iribarne, West Coast FC (CA)
Whitney Jaynes, Dallas Texans (TX)
Amy Kauffung, FC Milwaukee (WI)
Hannah Keane, Capital Athletic SA (CA)
Jessica Kelley, St. Louis Scott Gallagher (MO)
Morgan Kennedy, PDA (NJ)
Sarah Killion, Fort Wayne Fever (IN)
Kasey Koballa, OCSA Coastal Crew (NC)
Loeau Labonta, Arsenal FC (CA)
Samantha Lee, Washington Premier (WA)
Sam Leyh, NJSA (NJ)
Abigail Lutzenkirchen, NASA (GA)
Marie Mackenzie, Real So Cal (CA)
Megan Marsack, Michigan Gators (MI)
Ashley McCutcheon, West Coast FC (CA)
Hayley McKinney, Dallas Texans (TX)
Indiana Mead, Neusport SC (NV)
Rosa Medina, Dallas Texans (TX)
Sarah Molina, Cleveland FC (OH)
Kelley Monogue, Dallas Texans (TX)
Casey Morrison, Spirit United (PA)
Satara Murray, Lonestar SC (TX), Eclip
Kathryn Nigro, FC Alliance (TN)
Jenna O’Dell, Novi Jaguars (MI)
Megan Oyster, Windy City Pride (IL)
Cate Parchinski, Pride Predators (CO)
Chelsey Patterson, Fullerton Rangers (CA)
Shelby Payne, IMG Soccer Academy (FL)
Sydney Payne, IMG Soccer Academy (FL)
Jenna Pellegrino, FC San Diego (CA)
Helena Pereira, FSA Soccer Plus (CT)
Kate Perry, San Diego Surf (CA)
Molly Poletto, Colorado Rush (CO)
Courtney Proctor, Santa Clarita United (CA)
Brittany Ratcliffe, Penn Strikers (NJ)
Shannon Roche, PDA (NJ)
Dana Rosney, Penn Strikers (PA)
Morgan Ruhl, Baltimore Bays (MD)
Julia Sandridge, Twin Cities YSA (NC)
Taylor Schneider, Dallas Texans (TX)
Olivia Schultz, Woodbury SC (MN)
Sami Scofield, Eclipse Select (IL)
Karin Simonian, Albertson SC (NY)
Kelsey Smigel, Cleveland FC (OH)
Taylor Smith, Solar SC (TX)
Abby Smith, Dallas Texans (TX)
Meredith Speck, Albertson SC (NY)
Natasha Springer, Pleasanton Rage (CA)
Annalika Steyn, Birmingham United (AL)
Maya Theuer, San Diego Surf (CA)
Chioma Ubogagu, D’Feeters  (TX)
Sarah Voigt, Ponte Vedra SC (FL)
Brittany Von Rueden, FC Milwaukee (WI)
Georgia Waddle, Eclipse Select (IL)
Clarissa Wedemeyer, Dallas Texans (TX)
Tabria Williford, Lonestar SC (TX)
Mariah Winters, Los Angeles FC (CA)