Youth soccer players who joined the North Stars 3-versus-3 teams did so because they wanted an extra dose of soccer over the summer.

Little did players on the U-11 and U-9 boys teams know that their talents would take them into the middle of winter.

The North Stars Academy, located in Gibsonia, will send the two teams to Orlando, Fla., to participate in the Kick It 3-versus-3 World Championships at Disney World in January.

Both teams earned a spot after the U-9 team finished second and the U-11 squad took third at the regional competition in West Seneca, N.Y., last month.

The U-9 squad lost the championship game in overtime.

To have two teams qualify for a national event says a lot about the program.

"A lot of it has to do with the club philosophy," said Stephan Fatschel, who coached both the U-9 and U-11 teams this season under academy director Chuck Kelley. "Winning is not our primary goal. We focus on player development with a lot of training and having fun.

"We're proud of what the boys did in New York," added Fatschel. "All the practice they put in paid off."

North Stars was formed just two years ago and has roughly 35 kids competing between the U-8 and U-11 age levels.

"The academy itself is two years old, but our coaches have been coaching soccer for much longer than that."

The U-9 and U-11 teams include players from Cranberry Township, Seven Fields, Wexford, Harmarville, Hampton Township and Shaler Township.

Three-on-three soccer is very different from the conventional soccer most people are familiar with."There is no goal keeper," said Fatschel. "The nets are small and there are no specific positions for each player."All players must be able to play defense as well as attack. They have to be very versatile because it's very intense soccer."Both the U-9 and U-11 teams performed well in a tournament in Pittsburgh, earning them a spot at regionals in New York.The U-11 team has been together since 2003 while the U-9 team has played together for about a year.Fatschel isn't concerned about the five-month layoff between regionals and nationals."Most of the kids will train together this fall at the academy," he said.No matter what the outcome is come January, in one sense both teams have already claimed victory."It was 110-percent effort by all of the kids," said Fatschel. "They used all the skills they've learned over the last few years."