Fourteen-year-old Tyler Arnone of Hicksville has been very busy playing international soccer in Brazil and Spain recently.

From Feb. 16-26, Arnone traveled with the Pro World Soccer Academy's Player Development Tour to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Here Arnone played five games against the up-and-coming youth teams in Brazil, participated in a beach soccer game on the sands of Copacabana and experienced two clinics run by the Brazilian National Team coaches. One of the highlights of the trip included a tour of the Maracana Stadium, the biggest and most popular soccer stadium in Brazil, if not the world.

Next, Arnone traveled from April 8-18 with the Region 1 Boys ODP team to participate in the Torneo Int'l DeIrun Tournament near San Sebastian, Spain. Arnone was chosen by the regional coaches and the United States Olympic Committee to be part of the 18-man roster, which included elite players from Region 1 (Maine to Virginia). The USA Region 1 ODP team played against the likes of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona. For Arnone, it was a great soccer opportunity and an even greater challenge to compete against the best club teams in Spain representing Region 1 and the USA.

Best of luck to Arnone as he travels to play in the Swiss Cup in Zurich, Switzerland for 10 days this summer as a selected member of the Super Y League 1991 National Team. His family and friends are very proud of all of his accomplishments.