They’re Gearing Up for Run at Title : Soccer: Torrance United has earned a berth to the U.S. Youth Soccer national championships this month in Phoenix.

After six years together, Coach Sam Tanaka has a good understanding of what makes the Torrance United Waves such a dominant soccer team.

“Individually, other teams may have more talent,” he said. “But as a team, we outplay them by a mile.”

Tanaka doesn’t mean to imply that the Waves, a 17-and-under club team of South Bay girls, lack exceptional players. Three team members--forward Traci Arkenberg, goalkeeper Celeste Adams and midfielder Shannon Boxx--are currently participating in the invitation-only Olympic Development Camp in Tacoma, Wash.

And several Waves earned Southern Section honors playing for their high school teams last season.

Tanaka is aware of his players’ abilities. But he contends that team chemistry, rather than individual talent, distinguishes the Waves from their competition.

“The secret to our success is unity within the team,” he said. “All the girls get along with each other. It creates a tremendous amount of teamwork.

“The girls know each others’ moves. They know what to expect.”

The Waves’ cohesiveness was evident last month in Albuquerque, N.M., where they went 6-0 to win the Far West title and qualify for the U.S. Youth Soccer national championships July 21-25 in Phoenix. Four club teams, each representing a different region of the nation, will compete for the 17-and-under title.

For Tanaka, 44, the national tournament represents the culmination of several years of dedicated coaching. He started the Waves in 1987, when most of the girls were 10. They have been together ever since, racking up an impressive record as they have ascended age divisions.

Some of the Waves’ highlights:

* They have a six-year record of 358-28-22, including 269 shutouts.

* They reached the Far West regional final in 1989 in the 12-and-under division, losing to Northern California on penalty kicks.

* This season they are 68-6 with 49 shutouts.

To the uninitiated, the club soccer season may seem ridiculously long. Competition begins in August and continues through December, when the high school season begins. The club team starts up again in late February and competes through the summer.

Because the Waves have gone the distance this season by reaching the national tournament, they will have only one week off before a new season begins on Aug. 1.

“I have them for almost a whole year,” Tanaka said.

Tanaka, an engineer who is currently working on the expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, acknowledged that it is unusual for a club team to have been together as long as the Waves. He will coach the team through next season, when most of the girls will graduate from high school. Included in that group is Tanaka’s daughter, Tricia, a senior at West Torrance High.

“Most teams go through coaching or personnel changes,” he said. “We’re one of the few teams that’s closely knit between the players and coach. It’s kind of unique that a team would stay together this long.”

Wave standouts include Arkenberg, the team’s leading goal scorer and a Southern Section Division I first-team selection at Peninsula; Boxx, a Division I first-team pick at South Torrance; Adams, a Division III third-team goalkeeper at Bishop Montgomery; defender Jamie Perdue, who plays for West Torrance; defender Miriam Parsa, a Division IV third-team choice at Chadwick, and defender Sasha Danna, a Division I second-team selection at Peninsula. All are seniors except Boxx, a junior.

The team also includes two recent Torrance graduates who have earned Southern Section recognition: goalkeeper Jenny Halladay and high-scoring forward November Wallace.

Halladay was in goal June 23 when the Waves, representing Southern California, beat Arizona on penalty kicks, 4-3, in the Far West final. Danna scored the winning penalty kick after the teams had played to a scoreless tie through regulation and two overtimes.

Tanaka said the game rekindled memories of the Waves’ loss in the Far West final in 1989, when Northern California won on penalty kicks.

“It was very similar,” Tanaka said. “It’s such a tossup when you go to (penalty kicks). You hate to see a loser, but unfortunately that’s the way the game is set up. We were lucky to get one more goal than (Arizona) did.”

Tanaka said the regional tournament provided excellent exposure for his players.

“A majority of our girls have been approached by college coaches,” he said. “There were 24 college coaches at the regional tournament. From day one, I met college coaches who were there recruiting.”

When Tanaka started coaching, college scholarships in women’s soccer were virtually nonexistent. He began more than 10 years ago in the American Youth Soccer Organization when his oldest daughter, Jennifer, was playing. A college junior, Jennifer now competes for UC Irvine.

Tanaka has been coaching teams in the Torrance United soccer club for the past eight years. He said coaching on the club level is rewarding because it involves working with elite players from across the area.

“The ones who are exceptionally talented need an avenue to excel,” he said. “It gives the talented kids an opportunity to compete at a higher level.”

Tanaka raised the level of the Waves’ competition by joining the Coast Soccer League in Orange County in 1989.

“It’s probably the most competitive league in Southern California,” said Tanaka, who estimated that the Coast League has produced 60% to 70% of the state champions in club soccer in recent years.

Tanaka said he never expected the Waves to join the list of state champions when he started the team.

“I never believed we would be as successful as we’ve become,” he said.

Maybe he’ll have higher expectations for the next group of players he plans to coach. Tanaka will help develop a 10-and-under team next season that includes his youngest daughter, Kristi. After coaching the Waves for one more season in the 19-and-under division, he’ll turn his attention to the younger team in 1994, beginning another time-consuming cycle.

“It’s back to square one,” he said. “I’m not looking forward to it, but the rewards are certainly worthwhile.”