At the age of 15, Danny Barrera left his Thousand Oaks home to go to Bradenton, Fla., where the U.S. Soccer Federation sends its brightest young players to the IMG Soccer Academy's residency program.

In 15 months, he played across four continents.

In Japan, he converted a penalty kick before 25,000 fans. In Argentina, he faced a Brazilian team that included twins Rafael and Fabio of Fluminense, who soon joined Manchester United on the advice of star Cristiano Ronaldo.

He braved the barbed tongues and studded tackles of England, where he lined up against Theo Walcott, the $20 million teenager on England's 2006 World Cup team.

This summer, he may be the lone high schooler to make the roster of the Ventura County Fusion, the area's new Premier Development League team.

So it says something about high school athletics that Barrera, now that he has returned to his Westlake High teammates, is so excited about the CIF playoffs, which begin this week.

"I would love to win CIF," said Barrera. "It would add to my experience and I would love to help make that happen."

Barrera, a 17-year-old junior, had barely returned from a two-week trip to Mexico with the U.S. Under-18 national team when he was happy to find out his Westlake teammates had earned four wins and a draw in their last five matches to slip into the playoff field released Monday.

Westlake (12-8-3) will play Cabrillo High of Long Beach on Wednesday in a CIF-Southern Section Division I wild-card match. The winner plays Sunset League champion Los Alamitos on Saturday in the first round.

"I think we can do it," said Barrera. "We have some great players that know how to play soccer."

Goalkeeper Jordan Mannisto, tall left back Jared Flaum, hard-working center midfielder Spencer Kelly, skillful attacker Kyle Nathanson and quick forward Brett Berman make up the spine of the team alongside Barrera.

The quiet kid who left Westlake after his freshman year returned from Florida a much different player.

"He's changed a lot," said Mannisto. "He came back a much more confident player."

Barrera made an immediate impact, scoring one goal and assisting the other in his first game back, a 2-0 win over Simi Valley.

He had a goal and three assists in a 4-0 win over Calabasas and picked up another assist in a 3-1 win over Newbury Park.

"He just knows the game so well," said Nathanson. "No matter what team he's on, he stands out. It's amazing to watch him play."

Because of club and country commitments, Barrera has only played in a handful of games, but he would love to match his older brother, Loyola Marymount junior Diego, who won a CIF title with Thousand Oaks.

"It's a big thing for their whole family," said Mannisto.

If it can figure out how to get Barrera back into the lineup and keep the momentum built over the past fortnight, Westlake might be one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament.

Which would be a big thing for every player.

"It just means so much because you spend every day in high school with these guys," said Nathanson. "It means so much to everyone. College splits everyone up, so these are our last games together."