2007 Award Winners

Our female winner is Laura Olson of St. Louis Park.

Laura, a graduated from Saint Louis Park High School graduadte, plans to be a physical therapist and counselor. She will pursue here studies at Winona State University were she will play soccer for the Warriors. Throughout her high school career, Laura excelled on and off the soccer field. According to Benjamin Kent, St. Louis Park Girls Soccer Coach, “Laura has a tremendous work ethic and an attitude about life that has made her one of the best student-athletes I have had the pleasure to coach in my twenty plus years of coaching.”

Laura has spread her passion for soccer and life over the past several years by working through her church running an after-school program called Magic Attic in which she lead the participating 5th and 6th graders in fun soccer activities. She has also served as an assistant coach and referee for the St. Louis Park Soccer Program. Laura wrote in her essay, “I believe that in the past 14 years, soccer has made me who I am today. It provided me with outstanding relationships, acted as a vital getaway, provided me with fun and worthwhile jobs, and brought me closer to my community.” She goes on to write, “Soccer provides me with one important message; strive for your goal. This message can be applied not only on the soccer field, but also in the game of life. And that is what I plan to do; strive for my goals in life.”

Our male winner is Christopher Roskowinski of Cottage Grove.

Christopher sums up his experience in this way, “My wish is for soccer to touch the hearts of kids the way it has touched mine.” A 2007 graduate of Park Senior High School in Cottage Grove, he plans to work as a physical therapist. “I would like to help people, recovering from injury, to achieve their highest quality of life.” He will attend the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse this fall. Like Laura, Christopher is an excellent student and an outstanding volunteer in his community. “Mr. Roskowinski views soccer as not just a game, but rather as a connection to people and relationships” wrote Jonathan Schaefer, Director of Program and Player Development for Cottage Grove Soccer Club.

Active as an assistant coach and referee in the Cottage Grove Soccer Club, Christopher also found time to volunteer for his church. He wrote about a recent mission trip and described playing soccer with children in a poverty stricken community, “I watched how the simplicity of soccer could bridge the gap between people of all ages, races, religions and socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. With milk cartons as our goal posts, we laughed as we played the world’s greatest game.” As a player “his positive communication skills and relentless efforts to ‘cover’ for people as a defender made him a special player,” wrote Schaefer.

2006 Award Winners

Our female winner is Jennifer Jankord of Albertville.

Jen, a member of the St. Michael-Albertville class of 2006, plans to attend Hennepin Technical College to study graphic design. She played high school soccer for five years and was active in marching band, volleyball and tennis. Her community activities included Girl Scouts, church dinners, city garage sales, mowing lawns, and shoveling driveways. But Jen writes, “Coaching little kids during soccer camp over the summer was my thing. Being hearing impaired made things a little more difficult for me, but the love of the game and the joy of teaching these children was well worth the effort.”

When she was four years old, Jen’s mother decided to enroll her daughter in soccer shortly after discovering Jen was hearing impaired. This was her way to help her daughter interact with others and make friends. Jen wrote that soccer was “a sport I had never heard of and now it became my best friend. It was just the beginning of getting myself out there and achieving at what I can do best. It let me see the person who I was and let others see me for me.” Jen plans to continue to give back to the sport that has given so much to her by continuing to coach youth soccer players.

Our male winner is Nathan Vannatta of Owatonna.

Nate is a senior from Owatonna High School who plans to pursue a career in biomedical engineering and would like to work in the Sports Medicine field. He will attend Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri this fall. Nate has played soccer since 1999 in Owatonna and most recently for the Blaine U18 Premier team. He served as captain of his high school soccer team both his junior and senior years.

Nate is a volunteer youth soccer coach and a USSF certified referee. He has been very involved in school activities including Track, National Honor Society and Peer Helpers just to name a few. “While I have been fortunate in all that I have achieved, I will never forget the community which made it possible. That is why I am active in my church youth group, am a mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, volunteer for highway clean-up, and am a math tutor.” Nate hopes to continue to play soccer while attending college. “I feel very fortunate for the opportunities I have and am aware that none of it would have been possible were it not for the enthusiasm and work ethic I obtained through playing grassroots soccer.”

2005 Award Winners

Our female winner is Jennifer Lee of Circle Pines.

Jennifer has been accepted at Macalester College where she plans to play Division III soccer and will pursue a degree in Biology with the goal of becoming a Medical Doctor. She currently attends Centennial High School, carries a 3.97 GPA and ranks 8th in her class of 450. Jenny has also participated in basketball and track, is the vice president of National Honor Society, committee chair of Student Council and captain of her high school soccer team. Her community service totals an incredible 575 hours. She set up, organized and participated in a peer tutoring endeavor at her high school and also created Kovers for Kids which makes fleece blankets for hospitalized children. Jenny's passion for helping people is something she wishes to continue the rest of her life.

Our male winner is Aaron Clubb of Burnsville.

Aaron has been accepted to the Santa Clara University where he plans to play Division I soccer and will pursue engineering studies. He currently attends the Academy of Holy Angels, carries a 3.56 GPA and honor roll recognition in every trimester of his high school career. In addition to soccer, Aaron is a two-time Gold Cup Award winner in piano, sponsors a child from the Philippines and serves as a mentor and role model to his six siblings. He feels that soccer has assisted him in developing into a disciplined and goal oriented person and hopes that his enjoyment and passion for the game encourages others in their development not only in soccer but in life.

Minnesota Youth Soccer Association and the Mike Warter Scholarship Committee are honored to award this scholarship to these two young athletes and excellent students. We are sure that we will hear wonderful things about them in the future. MYSA wishes you continued success through life.

2004 Award Winners

Erica Torkelson
Erica has been accepted at the University of Wisconsin where she will pursue a career in Business and Computer Science and she would like to own her own business or company in the future. Erica attended Willmar Senior High Scholl where she excelled as a student. She has this to say about soccer “Through soccer I have grown. I became more outgoing, more confident, and a lot stronger. It has also brought me to meet new people, whom in other cases, I wouldn’t have ever known” Erica also enjoys music and she has taken piano, violin, trumpet, saxophone, guitar and cello lessons. She also likes to give back to the community through Girl Scout and through her church. She hopes she can continue to make a difference in her community in the future.

John J. Guttman
John has been accepted to Carroll College where he will pursue a Sports Medicine degree to become an Orthopedic Surgeon. He attended Eden Prairie high school where he played soccer and did an excellent job as a student. John was nominated by his teammates for the Tony Cable Hustle Award and was also nominated as All Conference Honorable Mention. He describes himself like this “ My determination to play my best, makes me work harder and hopefully will inspire others to try harder all the time, as well” “ I feel I deserve this scholarship for my hard work and determination on and off the field” “Soccer will always be a big part of who I am”.

2003 Award Winners

Laura Grube
Laura graduated from Wayzata High School last spring in the top ten of her 690-member class with a 3.99 GPA out of a possible 4.0. She was a member of the National Honor Society, a Minnesota Academic All-Star, a National Merit Finalist and in the publication “Who’s Who Among American High School Students. Her volunteerism extends to her school, her church and her community. Laura currently is a freshman at the College of St. Benedict in their pre-pharmacy program with plans to continue through to a doctorate.

Jonathan Werth
Jonathan currently is a senior at Glencoe-Silver High School and has a 4.0 GPA. He plans to double major in Engineering and Music Education and his career goal is to be an acoustical engineer and private music teacher. In addition to soccer, Jonathan runs track, participates in band, choir, and drama and is an MYSA certified referee. He is also a Student Council representative, a two-year member of the National Honor Society and has earned top honors at the Minnesota State Science Fair.

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