How do teenage boys spend their summer?

Playing Xbox, swimming at the local pool, going to the movies?

Not these guys.

The Pittsburgh NorthStars U-17 boys soccer team won the 2009 U.S. Club Soccer National Championship in Virginia Beach, Va. in late July.

The squad was comprised of 19 players from nine different school districts, including Mars.

The Mars players included Michael Page (midfielder), Ryan McKenzie (forward), Tim Frigot (forward) and Tanner Panza (forward and outside back).

The road to a national title was a long one.

The team began practicing shortly after the high school season ended last fall.

The NorthStars won their league (Pennsylvania Premier Alliance) before going to North Carolina in June to compete in the regional tournament, where they finished first after winning all four of their games.

At nationals, the team went 2-0-1 in pool play, which advanced it to the championship game against Triangle United, a team from Chapel Hill, N.C.

The NorthStars came away with a 2-1 victory, tallying the deciding goal in the 90th minute of play.

"We always tell our players to go as hard as you can, go the best that you can and we'll see where we end up," said the team's coach, Bobby Vosmaer. "We would not have been disappointed had we finished second. Winning isn't the most important thing, effort is."

For the Mars players, who have played in a state title game (2007) and won last year's WPIAL Class AA title, the national crown is now at the top of their list of athletic accomplishments.

"We had to win regionals just to get to the national tournament," said Page. "There's a lot more games involved than there is in high school. So, it is more prestigious.

"The caliber of the players, it's higher too," he added. "Not all high school players play club soccer."

"Going to nationals and actually winning it, the experience was one of the best of my life," said Panza.

It figures that such a great season still hasn't registered with all the players.

"It still hasn't sunk in yet," said McKenzie. "But to think that we used to be one of the worst club teams in the area and we just won at nationals, it's awesome."

The majority of the team's members, including McKenzie, have been playing together since the U12 age bracket. Seven years ago, the team played its first game and lost 8-0.

But the squad improved rapidly, reaching the U14 national title game in 2006, losing 3-1 to a team from Roanoke, Va.

"It's been a very dedicated bunch," said Vosmaer. "The team kept getting better and better."

For Frigot, who graduated from Mars in June, the road to the national title was memorable for other reasons.

Two ACL injuries to his right knee have kept Frigot on the sidelines for much of the last two seasons, both during club and high school soccer.

He did not play in the national tournament, but did make the trip with his teammates. He was also part of the U14 squad in 2006.

"I wished I could have played, but I knew the team was good enough to win," he said. "To see them win, it was bittersweet for me, but I was happy for the team.

"I had a lot of fun going to nationals twice with NorthStars," Frigot added.

Now high school seniors, Page, McKenzie and Panza will turn their attention to helping the Planets defend their WPIAL title.

"We all want to go as far as possible," said Panza. "We'd love to go back to the state title game like we did when we were sophomores, but we'll see how it goes."

Former Butler High boys soccer coach Chuck Kelley was an assistant coach for the NorthStars.