RALEIGH - Kathy Erickson well remembers the day she caught the attention of North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance during a youth soccer tournament in her native Georgia more than 20 years ago.

"Anson walked up, and it was pure luck," Erickson said. "I hit a 40-yarder into the back of the net. He wrote that down."

The shot led to a spot on the Tar Heels squad that won four consecutive national championships from 1981 to 1984.

On Friday, Erickson was watching her son Adam at the U.S. Youth Soccer Southern Regional Championships, as 184 boys and girls teams vied for a ticket to the national championships in Little Rock, Ark.

"It goes to show, you never know who's watching," Adam Erickson said. "You should always do your best."

While the kids want to win, Kathy Erickson says there is often more emphasis on attracting the attention of college scouts, who roam the sidelines looking for recruits.

Adam Erickson agreed that he really wants a scholarship to play soccer. But once the game starts, he said, he tries not to feel any pressure.

"We really don't worry about who's watching," he said. "I'm going to play my game."

Field of champions

There's a reason that scouts from as far away as the University of Illinois were at the event.

"It's where we can see the most kids," said Steve Magee, an assistant coach for UNC-Wilmington's men's team.

The Southern Regional Championships bring together the age-group champions from 12 state associations in the Southeast.

"These are the best teams in the state," said Pedro Lopes, an assistant coach for the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

There's a general consensus that the level of competition is higher than in high school competition and that this is a better indication of how prospects will perform at the college level.

Magee said his program generally doesn't even recruit from high schools.

Scouts are often sent to look at a specific athlete several times, which can sometimes lead to stumbling upon other talent.

"You have to make sure that what you see the first time is what you see the second, third and fourth time," said Lopes.

The club teams often have team managers who produce pamphlets to be handed out to the college scouts during the bigger tournaments, such as the Southern Regionals or various invitational showcase events.

The guides include contact information and details about team members.

The growth in soccer in recent decades has created more competition for a finite number of scholarships.

Consider that the NCAA only allows each Division I men's team 9.9 scholarships -- meaning only the most skilled players are offered full scholarships. For the women's team, 12 scholarships are allowed.

Since there are more than 20 players on a team, coaches are forced to give out partial scholarships, spreading the money around.

A numbers game

It's why Scott Harvey of Apex isn't holding his breath to see if his son Evan, who plays on the 91 Triangle United Gold squad, will get an athletic scholarship.

"The reality of the soccer scholarship is it's not a lot of money for most kids," Harvey said. "If he wants to play in college, great. As far as a scholarship goes, that's just icing on the cake."

The competition isn't lost on Adam Erickson.

"It would be pretty disappointing," he said. "That's why I keep my grades up; that way I have a backup."

Just the knowledge that a college scout could be watching can have an effect on the players.

Wolfgang Suhnholz, coach of Texas' Austin Lone Star team, told his squad at halftime that they needed to play more like a team.

"You have to connect with each other," he said. "Right now, the passing is not good enough."

After his team was defeated 2-0, he said the presence of scouts can make it harder for coaches to get players to put the team first.

"It's difficult, but that's what it's about," he said.

Hillsborough's Duke Garner, a member of the Triangle United squad, said a selfish attitude can be detrimental to all involved.

"You can go out on the field solely trying to impress the coaches, and that would make you nervous," said Garner, who is hoping to get a scholarship from an in-state school. "You have to show up for every second of the game. [The scouts] might only see you do one little thing, and then they have that impression."