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# Kids in it just for kicks
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/kids-in-it-just-for-kicks/
- Published: 2007-09-29T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T03:04:37.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Sports, Santa Monica, #archive-import

“It gives me a chance to do a sport that lets me meet new people from my team,” she said.

Her teammate Jennifer Eyler, the coach’s daughter and a seventh grader at John Adams Middle School, is one of the veterans on the team, having played with AYSO for six years. She agrees that the sport allows her to meet new people she might not otherwise bump into at school.

The younger Eyler’s team last year went to the sectionals in Riverside, losing in the first round.

The U-12 team, which includes two players new to soccer, have practiced together only twice and played in two scrimmages.

“The girls that haven’t had any experience get an opportunity to play with the girls that have,” Steve Eyler said. “Anyone who starts in soccer at this age must have some interest and they’re very willing to learn.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 29, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/092907.pdf?ref=smdp.com)