All About Yanks Abroad Running Thread 2013/14

Mason Robertson: Logging this in case the storyline resurfaces at some point, as he's currently a freshman at UW:

Robertson was offered a contract to play professional soccer in England when he was 15 years old, and head coach Jamie Clark knows the Huskies are lucky to have him.
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http://dailyuw.com/archive/2013/11/17/mens-soccer/kings-conference#.UooeDfmkqhI

From the school:

was offered a pro contract at the age of 15 by Reading FC of England

...

father played professional soccer for Aberdeen, Glasgow Rangers and Leeds United​

http://www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30200&ATCLID=208856364

 

Longtime YA nerds like myself will remember Paul Dolinsky. Here's a recent interview with the guy, who went over to Holland as a youth player:

Diane Scavuzzo: How old where you when you went to play in Europe?

Pauly Dolinsky: I left the United States when I was 15 and arrived the next day, on my 16th birthday. I could not play in Europe until I was 16 years old, and so they flew me out on my birthday.

Diane Scavuzzo: Why did you come back to the United States?

Pauly Dolinsky: I was very young when I was playing abroad. I missed my family very much. Everything happens for a reason. I have a wonderful life here in the USA and coaching is very rewarding.

I am very fortunate today to have my wife and my two young sons around me, but I still dream at night about when I played pro soccer in Holland. In fact, I dream in Dutch.​

http://www.soccernation.com/paul-dolinsky-youth-soccer-star-now-youth-coach-cms-3902

 

NZ/former YA Shay Spitz on the move (domestically):

RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to announce the signing of midfielder Shay Spitz, pending USSF approval.
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http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/771496.html

 

Perhaps one to watch: Michigan State University senior defender Wesley Curtis.

Curtis was as highly recruited as any after his impressive career at McKinney High School, where he served as captain and earned first team all-state honors as a senior. After graduating early, Curtis moved to Argentina where he trained for over a month with Los Estudants de Plata, a professional team in the Argentinian Premier Division.

...

"I had some opportunities to go and tryout with some other professional clubs at the time, but after talking with my parents, we made the decision that getting an education was most important," said Curtis.
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http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/111113aaa.html

His profile:

http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/wesley_curtis_716139.html

Injury problems have limited his effectiveness in college, so it's hard to say whether he's contemplating a career in soccer -- in the first article linked, it looks like he might be thinking about the military. Good luck to him whatever he might choose.

 

Tyler Janowski, a '00 birth year player with SV Wiesbaden, is a YA.

http://svwiesbaden1899.de/c2/kader

http://region1.com/Content/directors/upimg/dir8697/bodp 13-14rosters/2013-2014b_2000pool.pdf

 

Samuel Schiller, a '99 with SV Elversberg, is a YA.

http://sv07elversberg.de/spieler/albion-mehmetaj/

The club has a number of American youth players.

 

Don't know if this fellow is a citizen, but it appears Oumar Diakhite (who played HS ball in the States) is now in Portugal with Olhanense.

Former Montverde Academy soccer standout Oumar Diakhite, recently scored his first goal in Portugal’s top professional division for Sporting Club Olhanense.
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http://www.southlakepress.com/sports/article_33106063-bf54-55a0-8b61-604b39a3fa43.html

 

German lower-division club FC Freihung lists first-teamer Ifiok Idiokakpan as a Yank.

http://www.fc-freihung.de/fcjo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=1

 

Didn't know Drew Yates had trials overseas. He's currently playing indoor ball:

After stints with FC Tampa Bay (2010), the USL Harrisburg Islanders (2011 and '12) and the Eagles, Yates is still forging ahead. He had a weeklong trial with SK Sigma Olomouc in the Czech Republic and was also a prospect for a Swedish team. Those experiences have helped Yates build his skill set, season by season, and he said he was satisfied he could continue to play among great players, outdoor and indoor.
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http://www.pressboxonline.com/2014/01/14/former-terp-drew-yates-pursuing-pro-soccer-career

@CanadianSupporter, what's the deal with Sigma Olomouc? Anecdotally, it sure seems like every player on the planet gets a trial with them at some point.

 

Here's some information on a Florida teen named Wheeler Landers who spent some time in Argentina:

Dropping out of school has never been in Leon soccer player Wheeler Landers' plans.

But a trip to Argentina in July that lasted until December put the senior midfielder inside a culture where a child who has soccer talent foregoes a traditional American route in favor of a way out of poverty.​

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20140107/SPORTS01/301070022/Landers-learns-from-trip-Argentina

 

Another Yank at Stoke? Asmir Begovic has an American wife, so perhaps he's a citizen or soon to become one:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...Stoke-keeper-Asmir-Begovic-play-homeland.html

 

Since it was just training, logging it here:

The path to NCAA Division I soccer can be a varied one, and that is especially true of Nikola Atlija, a commit to the University of Wisconsin for the incoming fall class.

Atlija, a forward who plays for FC Wisconsin Nationals in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, has spent several summers training with various age group sides at history-rich Serbian club Red Star Belgrade.
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http://www.soccerwire.com/news/belg...-pedigree-to-university-of-wisconsin/?loc=psw

"Belgrade Badger" would be a decent indie band name.

 

It looks like Kyle Goodwin, a former NYRB academy '95 from New Jersey, was briefly with a Portuguese club called Sport Grupo Sacavenense. This link has him playing matches in September.

http://servicos.afvianacastelo.com/...ao=ficha&linkclube=&tipototal=JR&tipoagente=J

However, he was listed as back in the States a month later:

Goodwin played for the New York Red Bull Academy last season before an opportunity took him to Portugal over the summer, where he has family.

Goodwin was not enrolled as a student at South Brunswick when school began in September as he was still overseas, but he since has come back and registered for school, starting at South Brunswick on October 7.​

http://blogs.mycentraljersey.com/so...cer-notebook-and-top-10/#sthash.9eF9b4FX.dpuf

USSDA profile:
http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/37416866/37417268-37416959/31619231.html

 

Aaron King, who played with Haka in Finland last season, has joined the RailHawks of the NASL.

 

Cory Weaver, who played at Wheaton College and has now joined NAIA Taylor U. as an assistant coach:

... went on to play soccer professionally in Australia, first with Brisbane Wolves FC in the city of Wynnum, and then with Bayside United in the city of Lota. With Bayside United, Weaver recorded two goals and six assists in ten games of competition, helping his team to a second place finish in the table.
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http://athletics.taylor.edu/coaches.aspx?rc=243

http://athletics.wheaton.edu/roster.aspx?rp_id=2752

 

A sports agency says it represents a couple of dual-citizenship players who are actively looking for jobs overseas, Rimar Daisley-West and Adam Sin.

http://www.concordesportsagency.com/roster/rimar-daisley-west.html

http://www.concordesportsagency.com/roster/adam-yuksan-sin.html

 

German lower-division club VfR Fahrenbach lists striker Ronny Hall as an American.

http://www.vfr-fahrenbach.de/senioren/kader-spielplan-tabelle-2013-14/

 

If it was this article, there was no mention of an American.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/magazine/06Soccer-t.html