Sorry only caught the second half of the 17s, and RSL scored the only goals, so no particular LAG player stood out, but I’m not as familiar with that age group.
A reminder of a really important vacancy. So much talk of player development in MLS academies & the big Red Bull academy job is vacant. I think a slam-dunk fit would be Omid Namazi if he’s willing to take it. Worked very well with the US U-18 team (including the strong 2001-born group) and is from the area #RBNY— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) December 18, 2018
Taking a look at how some of the top '05 scorers in the DA from last season have been doing this season so far. Isaac Espinal: 12 goals in 13 games for DC United U14. Last season he had 34 goals in 27 games for DCU U13. He was one of the players called to the U14 USYNT identification mega-camp, for which there is very spotty info. Other top scorers may well have been, but I haven't seen that. Miles Mukherjea-Gehrig: 20 goals in 10 games for SD Surf U14. Last season, he had 37 goals in 22 games across Surf U13 and U14. Martin Kwende: 8 goals in 8 games for SJ Earthquakes U14. Last season, he had 34 goals in 28 games across Earthquakes U13 and U14. Landon Hill: 7 goals in 12 games for Crew U14. Last season, he had 34 goals in 29 games for Crew U13. Interestingly, he's listed as a defender for both seasons. Jonathan Ruvalcaba: 10 goals in 12 games for LA Galaxy U14. Last season, he had 31 goals in 26 games for LAG U13. Dylan Tellado: 12 goals in 8 games for SJ Earthquakes U14. Last season, he had 45 goals in 24 games for Earthquakes U13. He appears to have a Spanish passport. Christopher Thaggard: 23 goals in 15 games for Queen City Mutiny U14. Last season, he had 55 goals in 33 games across ISL U13 and U14 (it seems ISL got renamed to Queen City Mutiny). The season before that, he had 34 goals in 28 games for ISL U12. Luke Van Heukelum: 17 goals in 13 games for Sockers U14. Last season, he had 55 goals in 28 games for Sockers U13. More impressively, he's been raising funds for children who are cancer patients: https://www.gofundme.com/team-44
'01 Nathan Harriel, a FB who recently got some YNT call ups is reportedly leaving Chargers in Florida and joining the Unions academy
I love that the Mutiny name is still a thing. Those were some days, man. Please, young people: Get off my lawn, and watch Valderrama highlight videos.
'96 version of the Mutiny was awesome. They finished 1st in the East...…………..not the DCU juggernaut. Imagine an alternate universe in which that Mutiny team wins MLS Cup!
Didn't stop San Jose from leaving after they won a championship. BTW, isn't Queen City a Cinncy nickname? If so either Queen City doesn't fit Tampa or Mutiny doesn't fit Cinncy. Sorry, I don't want to become the nickname czar.
!!! BTW, Queen City is a nickname given to a town that's the biggest in a region or state or country...………...but isn't the capital. There are a lot of towns that have taken up that nickname in the US. For instance in New England it's...…………….Burlington, Vermont. You'll see that nickname quite often for Burlington. There's a Queen City Brewing Company that's quite popular there. There actually used to be a Queen City FC, which was an NPSL team in Buffalo. I always liked that as a name for a team. There are a whole bunch of youth academies and clubs around the country with that name.
Yup. Except its nicknamed the Queen City for a different reason. Charlotte is called the Queen City because it was named for Queen Charlotte (wife of King George, the guy we told to take a hike). Same woman that Charlottesville, VA was named after. But we digress...…………………. The point does stand. Queen City FC would have been an awesome name for the new MLS club in Cincinnati. By the way, just to try to get us back on topic...………….has anybody heard anything new about Cincinnati's academy initiatives? If I remember correctly, they're going to try to be ready to enter the DA for the 2019/2020 season.
BREAKING: @ATLUTD U-19s will travel to Sindelfingen, Germany to participate in the prestigious 2019 @mbfussball Junior Cup 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/XWDXEnFRSu— ATLUTD Academy (@AcademyATLUTD) January 2, 2019
Not entirely sure if this is the right thread for this: Matthew Hoppe tabbed one of five 2001 born players to watch in 2019 by @TopDrawerSoccer! 💪🔵🔴“Hoppe is the best player in the Development Academy who has not been called into a U.S. Youth National Team. The striker for Barca Academy has been a level apart..” - @JREskilson https://t.co/nzo4N3YhYt— Barça Residency Academy (@BarcaAcademyAZ) January 2, 2019
Carleton and Bello are both listed on the roster by the tournament website. I don't know how accurate it is, but they might play.
Heck................its a prestigious tournament that I'm sure a lot of scouts are at. Do well there, and perhaps opportunities will present themselves. Without those two, the Atlanta U19s are pretty mundane compared to other MLS squads they could have invited. If the DA playoffs started today, Atlanta wouldn't be in them. Neither would the Galaxy, by the way. This is all corporate shenanigans anyway. This is the Mercedes-Benz Cup. Atlanta plays at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. I am capable of putting 2 and 2 together.
Well I don't think AC will be there. His social media has him hanging out in LA with Lee Nguyen... May be something, may be nothing (probably nothing). But it does mean that I doubt he will go to the tournament.
Yeah I think the trainer he is using is based out of LA(might be wrong), but I would love to imagine what Bob Bradley could do with Carleton. It would be beneficial in so many ways.
A player who I think is going to start getting more discussion is Elton Chifamba. I watched a game of his recently, and he looks improved. I liked his potential beforehand, but this is a player with high potential who is showing good improvement. He's always been a little raw, but I think he's improving on his defensive awareness. He also looks taller and a little smarter with his passing decisions. I've compared him to Tyler Adams before. I think he plays like Adams with better passing. I think he has a case for that #2 spot in 2003. I don't know that I'd put him in that spot yet, but I think he has that type of potential.
I watched a couple of DA games recently. Chicago U-17 vs. Columbus U-17 Chicago U-17 vs. Kansas City U-17 Chicago U-19 vs. Columbus U-19 Some thoughts on the players in these games. Chicago U-17: Gabe Slonina ('04): He has a big reputation, but he doesn't look like an obvious huge talent. Thats not to say he's bad or not the best keeper in the '04 year, but among the two keepers in the upper levels of their academy on YNT's, Las is much better now but was also much better at Slonina's age. It might also be unfair to compare him to Las. He didn't look out of place. One of the goals in two games was a goal he should've had. He was beat at his near-post through his hands. Aside from that, he didn't do much notable. Decent height, not the greatest with his feet. Showed some nice athleticism on a save or two, but didn't have that many to make. Commanded his area when the ball was played in the air. Justin Reynolds ('04): He was playing RB. I had read before that he was a CB/DM, so it might be that he's needed at RB with the U-17's, but is best playing centrally. He doesn't initially stand out, but he does a lot well. I don't see anything thats great from him at RB, but he has very good smarts for a 14 year old playing up. He's a decent passer, but its hard to tell how good due to being confined to the sideline. He can do some dribbling, but he's not creative. Good athlete, and rarely puts himself in positions to be beat defensively. I think there's high defensive potential in his game at RB and above-average offensive potential. He might be better suited centrally. He's a little small for the position at the U-17 level, so that could be the reason he's playing RB with the U-17's. I haven't seen him in his own age group. I don't suspect he'd be too small for CB (or CM) in the U-15's. He's around 5'8 at age 14, so I don't see a concern that he will be too small for the position, but he's also 4-5 inches off average pro-CB height. We'll have to wait and see if he grows another 5 or so inches. If so, that might be a better position for him. A couple other players of note on Chicago U-17. Takumi Ikeda ('02) has decent control of the game in CM. He's a little inconsistent, but he can dictate the tempo and get his team into good attacking positions with good ball-skills and passing. Alex Monis ('03) had some YNT call ups recently. Good athlete with some dribbling ability. I don't see much else. I don't think he's a YNT caliber player in his age group. Columbus U-17: Elton Chifamba ('03): Columbus has two high level 03's in their academy. Chifamba is one of the two. I mentioned him a couple of days ago, so there's no reason to repeat myself. Very good player with clear high-level pro potential. I'd say he's earned a promotion to the U-19's, and if he wants to sign in MLS (as opposed to waiting until he's 18 to sign in Europe), a first team contract shouldn't be far off. He might also be a candidate for the U-17 NT. Sam Sarver ('03): The other high-level '03 in the Columbus academy. Sarver has incredible pace. If he gets the ball in space, he's gone and will create a scoring chance. We've not produced many players like this, so it'll be interesting to see how he develops. I like his end-product. He consistently shows good decision-making with all the attacking chances he creates due to his pace. The rest of the offensive skills look adequate, but not high-level. He combines well, but doesn't attempt many difficult passes. He has some ball-skills, but often doesn't need them due to his pace. He was playing as a striker in this game. I've seen him play as a winger before. I think he's more likely a winger, but the speed and decision-making in the final third plays at either position. The lack of standout attacking ability other than pace and end-product could catch up to him as he starts playing against better players, but right now he's a very good prospect. He's been the most impressive player on the field every game I've seen him play. There are a couple of others worth mentioning from this Columbus team. Noah Hall ('03) is a quality player in his own right. He's not the huge talent that Chifamba or Sarver are, but he might be the next best player in the academy. Very reliable RB on both ends. Similar to Reynolds from Chicago, but maybe not as good of a prospect. Definite YNT caliber player in his age group though. Anthony Hernandez ('03) impressed me. Good decision-making in CM. Constantly pops up and makes smart plays to move the ball forward. Is he an 8? Is he a 10? Does he have the adequate skills for either? Is he a tweener? I'm not sure yet, but there's definitely talent there. Owen Wolff ('04), son of the USMNT assistant coach, held his own playing up a year. He was playing as a secondary striker. He combined well, showcased some nice ball control and decision making, but didn't impact the game. He might've been a little out of place athletically, and the game might've been a little fast for him. SKC U-17: Max Trejo ('02): Very impressive keeper. He is never talked about, but he always plays well when I've seen him play, and I think he has high potential. He has above-average size and very good reflexes. He made a number of very good saves in this game. I don't think he's gotten any YNT call ups yet, but he's deserving of one. Mitch Ferguson ('03): He's one of the best players at this level. He's a big CB. Good in the air, good passer and he defends well enough. He looks better than when I saw him play last year at this level. His mobility will determine his ceiling. Its definitely below-average. It doesn't hurt him at this level because he's better than almost every player on the field, but when he's not one of the most talented players in the pro game (he won't be), is it below-average and he can get by as a big CB who doesn't move that well or does he not have the mobility for high-level pro football? Plenty of talented big CB's don't. Definite pro potential here, but the mobility is a question. A couple of notes on some of the 04's they used. I thought Osvaldo Cisneros ('04) looked out of place physically and athletically in the first half on the wing. He moved centrally in the second half, and did a very good job. He's a playmaker. Good passer, good ball-control, smart decisions, finds teammates in space. Lacks athleticism and isn't hugely creative, but there's enough ability there to carve out a pro career. I'd need to see more high-level skill and creativity to think he's a very good prospect, but he's an adequate prospect from my initial analysis of his game. Rokus Pukstas was the other ('04) they used who held his own. He was playing as a #8. He only played 30 minutes, so it was hard to get a great assessment on his play. He was very active. Under-sized in the position, but he seemed to have adequate athleticism and he is a very aggressive defensive player. He was making wild attempts to win the ball that would've resulted in a card if he got anywhere near the player. He clattered into a crowd of players trying to win a header. I thought it was a foul, but the referee said he won the ball. Its youth football though, so the over-aggressiveness that results in leaving too much space for the other team to operate doesn't matter. Its good to see there's defensive aggression in his play. He showcased one or two nice forays forward, including skipping past a couple of players in a run down the middle of the field. I'd need to see more, but he appeared to have some talent in a #8 role. They also used Daniel Gutierrez ('04). He was the player who came out for Pukstas. He struggled to make an impact. He barely touched the ball. Chicago Fire U-19: Damian Las ('02): Same level of play as with the YNT's. Acrobatic saves that he has no business making. He made four nice saves, including one in the final minutes to preserve the win. Belongs in professional football. This level of football is too for him. Andre Reynolds ('01): Adequate talent from what I saw. Looked like one of the best players in this game with some pro potential, but he wasn't terrific in a game with very few real prospects. Good passer from the LB position who combines well, around an average athlete and he likes to get forward. He's good offensively due to his combination play and a quality soccer IQ, but there's a lack of offensive creativity and dribbling, so he's not better than good. A lot of positioning errors on the defensive end, some of which I think come from playing too aggressive offensively. He might not have the athleticism to play such an aggressive style. If he's getting beat by a team with no talent in the U-19 DA, he'll have to clean up his approach in the pro game. Could be a viable LB for Chicago in a couple years, but didn't look like an immediate option for their first team this season. Columbus Crew U-19: Not much talent here. Logan Kowalczyk ('01) had an average performance. Nothing notable, but he's one of the better keepers in '01, so he's worth mentioning.
First post. From SoCal. Have something I've been working on that I wanted to air out and see what folks think. Developed an algorithm to, among things, predict outcomes of games. Needs about 8-10 games to get to about 85%-90% accuracy. Here's what I have for this coming weekend for the boys DA matches: u13 Strikers 4 v Chula Vista 1 (could be 5-0) Palm Beach 1 v Chargers 1 (could be 0-2) u14 Palm Beach 3 v Chargers 0 u15 Strikers 1 v San Diego Surf 2 (could be 1-3) u16/17 Strikers 1 v San Diego Surf 2* (could be 1-1 or 2-1) u18/19 Strikers 2 v San Diego Surf 2* (could be 2-1 or 1-2) * SD Surf hasn't played a lot of group games so not a lot of data. Will be better/more accurate after first weekend of Feb.