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Fluco Soccer Player has Olympic Aspirations
Fluco Sophomore Has Olympic Aspirations
Rusty Wilbourn
The Rural Virginian 1-19-2011
Christine Domecq, a sixteen year old Fluvanna County High School soccer player, has been selected to the Virginia Olympic Development Program. Although there are many steps on the way to making the Olympic Team, Domecq has already forgone the first hurdle in the process. "This is an incredible honor," reflected the talented Fluco. "The other players who were born in 1994 (the way the team is selected) are all incredible athletes. Just competing against them will make me a better player."
For the foreseeable future, Christine will be travelling to Stafford, VA most every Saturday morning for practice. Of the 33 players selected to the state team, approximately 20 will be selected to compete in tournaments against other state teams in the Northeast Region. These players will then try-out for the regional team with hopes of becoming part of the national team from which the Olympic Team is selected. Christine has her sights on the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. If Christine succeeds, it will not be her first trip overseas riding on her soccer prowess. In the summer of 2008 she travelled to Italy to compete in the San Marino Cup as a member of the Soccer Organization of Charlottesville – Albemarle U14 Express Travel Team. That trip made a lasting impression on Christine who scored the winning goal with 12 minutes left in the championship game against the favored Italian team.
Christine's soccer career began at the early age of eight when she signed up to play in the Fluvanna Youth Soccer Association. She made the county all-star team her first year playing. Christine then tried-out for the elite SOCA Express team at the age of eleven. She made that team and has continued to progress. As a freshman in 2010, Domecq started every varsity game for Fluvanna High School and was named third-team All-Jefferson District. Christine lists Tara Garcia, the Fluco coach, as a role model and a mentor. "Coach Garcia had an outstanding career at American University," said Domecq. "She has had the types of experiences that will help her to help me reach my potential." Christine also swims for the Fluco girls' varsity swim team where she specializes in the 50 yard freestyle and spends her summers swimming for Cos Difazio's successful FAST swim team that placed second in JSL Division I. Christine is quick to point out that she swims mainly to stay in shape during the off-season. Soccer is her real passion.
Although athletics takes up most of her free time, Christine obviously does not let it infringe on her studies. She has earned 16 credits at FCHS thus far and 15 of those 16 classes (mostly honors classes) has resulted in A's with only one B. Christine obviously hopes to play soccer in college and is considering majoring in sports medicine. Her dream would be to one day go to UVA and play for Coach Steve Swanson where she has numerous family connections. Her mom, Julie, was an All-American swimmer at UVA, was a member of the first women's ACC Championship Team, and captained the 1991 team. Julie was recently inducted to the UVA Swimming Hall of Fame. Her dad, Greg, was once a Cavalier Men's Basketball coach under both Terry Holland and Jeff Jones. He is now the Associate Principal at Western Albemarle High School where he was recognized in 2009 as the Outstanding Administrator in Central Virginia by Phi Delta Kappa. Julie works as a nurse for Continuum Home Health, part of the UVA Medical System. Even though it is early in the college process, Christine is looking forward to learning about several schools and she has an open mind.
The Domecq family may be one of the most sports oriented families in the Lake Monticello community. Both of Christine's siblings excel in multiple sports. Derek, her eleven year old brother, was recently featured in the Rural Virginian front page story about the Thomas Jefferson Youth Football League 2010 championship game. As starting quarterback, Derek led the Gold Flucos 12U Team to an undefeated regular season and then a nail-biting 20-19 last minute victory over the Charlottesville Black Knights. As soon as the helmet and shoulder pads were in the closet, Derek jumped over to basketball where he plays for the Fluvanna team in the regional Virginia Development Basketball League. Although he is an outstanding football player, Derek's real passion is baseball. As the starting pitcher, he led the Fluvanna Youth Baseball 10U All-Star team to its first Babe-Ruth Cal Ripken District 5 championship. During both the regular season and all-star schedule, Derek struck out 154 batters and only gave up 44 hits in 82 innings for a 2.27 ERA. He also hit .595 with 69 RBI's in 79 at bats.
Even though Christine is proud of her brother's accomplishments, she considers her six year old sister Catherine to be more spirited and perhaps even a future rival on the soccer field. Catherine has been playing in FYSA since she was four, and although the grown-ups don't keep score in her U8 division, she does. Catherine likes scoring goals and in most games she makes close to a dozen. She is in first grade at Central Elementary and swims for FAST during the summer where she competes in freestyle and backstroke. When asked which she prefers, soccer or swimming, Catherine says swimming, and her mom, the All-American swimmer, is just fine with that!
About the Author
Greg Domecq is in his eighth year as the Associate Principal at Western Albemarle High School in Crozet, Virginia. In May of 2009, Domecq was presented the Alton L. Taylor Award from the University of Virginia Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa naming him the outstanding administrator in the region. Domecq's current responsibilities at Western include support for the English and Special Services Departments as well as the collaborative initiative, coordinating substitutes, the honor council, transportation, and 10th & 11th grade discipline. Over the years at WAHS, Dr. Domecq has also had oversight of the athletic department, Physical Education Department, textbooks, and teacher duty. On the county level, Domecq served on several committees including the School Business Alliance, the high school discipline steering committee, the behavior management committee, the International Baccalaureate Exploratory team, and the Teacher Performance Appraisal Steering Committee. He is credited with writing the TPA Process Manual, a user-friendly handbook that outlines the implementation of the Teacher Performance Appraisal model.
During Domecq's tenure at the Crozet school, the Warriors have been recognized for several outstanding accomplishments. A few of these accolades are as follows:
- WAHS was identified in January of 2008 as one of only ten high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia for the Governor's Award for Educational Excellence.
- Western consistently earned SAT scores more than one hundred points over the Virginia and National averages. These scores catapulted the school to a national ranking of 401 by Newsweek magazine in 2006.
- The Warrior Athletic Department earned the prestigious Wachovia Cup for the first time in 2004 recognizing WAHS as the best all-around AA program in the state. Western captured the award again in 2005 becoming only the third school in history to earn back-to-back titles. The Warriors returned to the top-of-the-list for the third time after the 2008 school year.
In 2004 Domecq earned his doctorate in Administration and Supervision from the Curry School at the University of Virginia. His minor areas included Curriculum and Instruction as well as Social Foundations in Education. His dissertation topic, "A Ninth Grade Transition Program, " studied the results of the Summer Leadership Academy at Monticello High School. Domecq has given numerous presentations in the Charlottesville area including visits to the University of Virginia, Piedmont Virginia Community College, Mary Baldwin College, State Farm Insurance, and the Waynesboro Kiwanis Club.