You hate to think of anything involving 15-year old players as being a “last chance,” but for some of those selected for this month’s U15 Girls National Team training camp in Coral Springs, Florida, the event will be crucial to their chances of being selected to the U17 Women’s National Team CONCACAF Qualifying roster in March.

The chronology goes like this: The U15 GNT camp includes players from the 1993, ’94 and ’95 birth years, all of who are eligible for next year’s FIFA U17 World Cup. U17 WNT coach Kazbek Tambi will be at the camp in Florida (held the week of Thanksgiving) and will finalize selection for an international trip with the U17 team to Argentina in December.  That will be a hugely important event in Tambi’s selection process for the qualifying tournament, as U15 coach Mike Dickey realizes, but there will be other chances.

“There will be another chance for the 94s early next year. I don’t know if we’ll call that a U17 “B” squad or a U16 team, but there will be one more opportunity for them to get together,” he said. “For the 95s, there will be something in January as a U15 team and we’ll be building toward the next World Cup (2012) with a lot of that group.”

The November event is also notable in that an international match has been built into the schedule. While the squad will again face regional teams from the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP setup (1993 birth year), a pair of matches vs. an older Costa Rican youth national team will highlight the schedule.

For Dickey, the squad chosen for the event reflects some intriguing player attributes.

“There’s a mix of different qualities. One of the things I’m happy about is to see some creative individuals at this age group. They are fun to watch and a little bit unpredictable,” he said. “There are some high technical qualities which is something not very common when scouting for talent across the U.S. Players like Mariana Galvan and Lindsey Horan are some of those who are really fun to watch.”

Dickey said the selection process, certainly for 2010, but also for the 2012 U17 World Cup has already begun.

“You start looking for different personalities and types of players,” he said. “You see who can play centrally in the back, who can play outside back and what type of central midfielders you want or which forwards can play in different roles. When I went with Kaz to the (2008) World Cup I got a sneak preview of what kids have to be like and what qualities they need to have success at that level. When we make decisions on picking players, that’s why we choose some of them, based on how we think they will match up against teams like Japan or France or Germany or Korea.”

One young lady who may be looking at a national team berth both in 2010 and  2012 is Stars of Massachusetts ’95 player Morgan Andrews. Andrews competed for the U.S. earlier this year against German in a combined U15/U17 camp in Florida. A standout central midfielder and gifted playmaker for her club team, she has been seeing time more recently in the back line for the youth national setup, a change she says she is enjoying.

“I was playing at the id2 camp and Rory Dames put me back there. It was a new position for me but I liked it and coach Dickey said I looked good back there,” Andrews said. “I will play anywhere they need me. It’s a good position for me. I like seeing the field in front of me and I’ve been working on my heading and being good in the air, along with my long balls and the accuracy in all of my passing.”

Andrews makes no presumption about being included in the U17 roster, but recognizes the importance of setting her goals high.

“It’s definitely my goal to get to be on the roster for that. I’m trying to make it and be a part of that team with the best players in the U.S.,” she said. “It was a great experience to play against Germany so (playing an international match) won’t be brand new, but it would definitely be an exciting experience.”

Playing with a national team will be brand new for another squad member, CASL Spartan Elite midfielder Joanna Boyles. Another ’95, Boyles impressed at the U14 Girls National Team camp held in August at Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. She and So Cal Blues forward Amber Munerlyn were the only players selected from that gathering to compete with the U15s this month.

Boyles is excited for the opportunity.

“I thought when I went to the first camp that I gave everything I could possibly give. I was just hoping for the best,” she said. “Our club team is extremely good. Just being around my team every day is pushing me to a different level, so it helps me get prepared for things like this. But I always love playing against the most talented players I can play against. It raises my level and helps me achieve what my goals are.”

Boyles credited CASL coach Damon Nahas, director of the Next Level Academy, with developing her as a player.

“He’s like a 2nd father to me. He’s been with me since I was 7 and has really made me who I am as a player,” she said. “He always focuses on the details and it’s made me a student of the game. He encourages us to watch a lot of soccer, so it’s on 24/7 in my house. He has us watch a specific player and see how they strike a ball, to see how they pass, how they drive, where they run, the different ways to see a through ball and see the field.

“There’s tons of repetition and I’m working on my own all the time too. Pretty much every moment of the day I think about soccer. From where I’m sitting in my house right now I can see six balls. They’re everywhere in the house.”

Boyles is eagerly anticipating the camp, and particularly the international matches with Costa Rica.

“I’m ecstatic. To be able to be a part of what these top players are trying to accomplish is amazing. Each of the next levels is harder and harder to reach and I hope they will help me reach those,” she said. “It would be absolutely amazing to play with the U.S. badge on your shirt.”

The squad will also play against ODP Regions I and IV.

U.S. U-15 GNT Roster By Position (courtesy US Soccer)

GOALKEEPERS (2): McKenzie Karas (Premier ’95 Black; Las Vegas, Nevada), Katelyn Rowland (San Juan Spirits; Vacaville, Calif.), Caroline Stanley (KCFC Alliance; Kansas City, Mo.)

DEFENDERS (7): Morgan Andrews (FC Stars of Mass.; Milford, N.H.), Lauren Bernard (Nordic SC; Colchester, Vt.), Kelli Hubly (Sockers FC; Elk Grove, Ill.), Laura, Liedle (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.),  Katie Naughton (Sockers FC; Arlington Heights, Ill.), Cari Roccaro (Albertson Fury; East Islip, N.Y.), Ashley Spivey (Baltimore Soccer Bays; Baltimore, Md.), Maya Theuer (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Joanna Boyles (CASL Spartan Elite; Raleigh, N.C.), (Miranda Freeman (Team Boca; Royal Palm Beach, Fla.), Gabrielle Galante (Montclair Thunderbolts; Howell, N.J.), Ashley Meier (Cleveland Whitecaps; Strongsville, Ohio), Reilly Parker (Mustang Blast; Danville, Calif.), Courtney Raetzman (Sockers FC; Elk Grove, Ill.), Brittany Ratcliffe (FC Pennsylvania Strikers; Williamstown, N.J.), Haley Washburn (San Juan Spirt; Folsom, Calif.), Sandra Yu (Cleveland Futbol; Strongville, Ohio)

FORWARDS (3): Mariana Galvan (SC Sporting; San Jose, Calif.), Lindsey Horan (Colorado Rush; Golden, Colo.), Amber Munerlyn (So Cal Blues; Corona, Calif.), Jasmine Paterson (Kendall SC; Key Largo, Fla.)