Q & A With San Gabriel Arsenal

RT Staff Note: Michael Viera's SGV Arsenal was established in the summer of 2001 with players from throughout the San Gabriel Valley. As the program grew, they expanded into 6 teams. A 13U, 14U, 15U/'11, 16U/'10, and two 18U teams. This past summer the Arsenal had four AFLAC All Americans on their roster...Aaron Hicks, LB Wilson HS/USC '08...Ricky Oropesa, Etiwanda HS/USC '08...Chris Amezquita, Servite HS/UCLA '08...Gerrit Cole, Orange Lutheran HS/UCLA '08

#1 What does your organization focus on when the high school season is in full swing?
We focus on a few things.(This year I will be focused on my 3 year old and 5 year playing t-ball and softball)We contact colleges to give them updates on players in our program. They will also call to keep tabs on players. We have developed quite a few relationships and trust with colleges over the years so they trust our input.

#2 Do you go to your summer players high school games?
We go to a lot of HS games just to watch and enjoy. It gives us some insight on how they are progressing. We will give them feeback good and bad. Sometimes a player will act differently with their HS team than with us and if we feel something was not right we will call and tell them.

#3 Do you have contact with the high school coaches about your players progress this past fall and summer?
We stay in regular contact with many of the HS coaches of our players. We also instruct all the players to keep their HS coaches updated on what we are doing. We want to be able to work with the HS coaches to make sure we are all on the same page. We invite the HS coaches to call us anytime. Most do. The top ranked HS programs stay in contact quite a bit.

#4 Do you still keep in contact with the high school players via e-mail or phone calls?
We email information all the time about summer events and to see how they are doing, what colleges are contacting them and NCAA info. We will call to stay in touch. We have developed great relationships with our players. Some give us grief if we can't make a game or two during the HS season. We also check on school (academic) progress.

#5 Do you post your high school players stats or accomplishments on your web site during the high school season?
We don't post stats but we post all newspapers articles from local papers to the LA Times. It works because college coaches have called asking who is this kid we keep reading about.

#6 What sets your program apart during the high school season that other programs do not do during this time of year?
I am not sure what other programs do during the HS season so I could not really say. We stay in contact with the players and parents. We are scheduling a seminar with Carmen Bucci very soon. We are also having a nutritionist come and speak. It will give us a chance to talk with all the players and catch up. We will be sending our recruiting guide shortly to all our players. It is a workbook/guide to the whole recruiting process.