Saltzman Going to Washington

Erin Saltzman of Birmingham High has accepted a soccer scholarship at the University of Washington even though she has not played a soccer match for the Braves since her sophomore year.

Saltzman led Birmingham to the City Section semifinals in her freshman and sophomore years but has played only club soccer for the past two seasons. Additionally, she is a member of the Olympic Development Program under-19 state team.

“Teams started playing against Birmingham and had five girls guarding her,” her father Ted said. “She and we were concerned that she was going to get hurt.

“She chose not to play high school soccer because she didn’t want to risk getting hurt.”

Bill Daws, Saltzman’s club coach, said her decision was not unique but that few soccer players forgo their high school eligibility because of the strength of their school programs.

But the scenario does illustrate a commonly held opinion in the soccer community: that the general caliber of play and players in high school is not as high as on club teams, which comprise the best players in a given area.

“When you play against top-quality girls, if you don’t have a number of good girls that you can pass off to, you’re going to get hurt,” Ted Saltzman said.

Erin Saltzman suffered a broken foot and various leg injuries during her career, he said.

“When you have a scholarship, you’re talking about a lot of money at stake,” he said. “When you get hurt, you lose the scholarship.”

The girls’ soccer program was begun in L.A. City Section schools only five years ago.

“Not to disparage the L.A. school system, but if you play in some of these schools it’s sort of a lost cause because they’re just starting the program,” Daws said.

Saltzman, an All-City selection in her freshman and sophomore seasons, is a multisport standout at Birmingham and was selected by the San Fernando Valley Kiwanis Club as the school’s top female student-athlete.

She was named All-City in tennis the past three years and also plays on the Braves’ softball team.

Saltzman also was recruited by California, Cornell, Wisconsin and UC Santa Barbara.