Brazilian coach teaches soccer, mentors her Diablo FC girls
Tafa draws on her National Team experience with young players

Posted: 12/18/2012 
Updated: 12/19/2012

For the past eight years local youth soccer players have benefitted from the coaching, teaching and mentoring of Marcia Tafarel, better known as Tafa, who has been a key member of the Diablo Futbol Club coaching staff since 2005.

This year Tafa coached the Diablo FC 03 under 9 girls team as well as the Diablo FC U8 Academy girls. Her Diablo FC 03 team completed its 2012 season with the NorCal State Cup Gold Division championship last month in Manteca.

The 13 girls on the Diablo FC 03 roster are training with a coach who has experienced soccer at the highest level participating with the Brazilian World Cup and Olympic teams from 1990-1996.

Diablo FC Director of Coaching Brian Voltattorni says, “Tafa has been one of our top youth coaches and has an amazing ability to empower young women to play at a higher level. She has a wealth of playing experience from her time playing professionally in Brazil and representing her country at the World Cup and Olympics. Tafa draws on her passion and experience as a player and brings that passion and energy to the training field every day.”

The team succeeded in the second round and quarterfinals of State Cup in Davis with three victories and a draw. In the second round they defeated Elk Grove Orange 3-0 and Mustang Fire 2-0 along with a 1-1 draw with North Bay Elite Blue 03. In the quarterfinals they outscored Placer United 03 White 4-2 with Sasha Chaloner, Chloe Vaisset-Fauvel and Marisa Loera scoring the goals.

This moved the local team into the semi-finals in Manteca where they shutout Mustang Matrix 1-0 with Isabella Brandt scoring the only goal. The championship match was against another area team, Heritage Wolfpack, and Tafa’s girls came away with a 2-1 victory as Chaloner tallied both goals.

Vaisset-Fauvel, Isabelle Barber, Lily Underwood, Amaia Spinal and Natalie Haro were part of the Diablo FC U8 Academy before joining the under 9 competitive team in its first season last winter. The other team members are Alexiah Dubon, Kaia Ilagan-Evangelista, Natalie Oosterhouse, Emiko Tahara and Peyton Wooten.

At the 14th annual Halloween Kick or Treat Classic the 03 girls honored their coach in the tournaments costume contest by all wearing blue and yellow Brazil national team uniforms.

After coming to the Bay Area Tafa attended Las Positas College in Livermore, joining the soccer team. She was MVP for the Lady Hawks, Coast Conference Player of the Year, first team Nor/Cal State and Western Region Midfielder of the Year. Most importantly was she was the first All-America in women’s sports at Las Positas in the 16th year of the college.

The humble, shy woman was also a star in the classroom at Las Positas with a 4.0 grade point average in sports medicine and ESL in the International Studies Department.

Tafa first joined Diablo Valley Soccer Club in 2005 where a fellow Brazilian international superstar, Sissi, was on the DVSC staff. DVSC and Mt. Diablo Soccer League combined to form Diablo FC in 2008 and Tafa has remained on the coaching staff since then.
“Tafa is a role model for many of the young women in our club,” Voltattorni adds.

Reprinted from Dec. 21, 2012 Clayton Pioneer