Some of the best news so far for the long term success of the Wizards. It's very encouraging that the team is continuing to push forward on this front. Full Article There's a lot more in here, including new hires, how the KCW Juniors teams are funded, and outlines of the training schedule and calendar.
Re: KCW Juniors Update Well Hillcrest Road must've been reading my mind. http://hillcrestroad.blogspot.com/2008/04/kcw-juniors.html
Re: KCW Juniors Update i really look forward to the first player to make the starting 11 after coming through the juniors program. that could be awhile, but when it happens (and it will happen), it needs to be made into a big deal.
Re: KCW Juniors Update bump, 3 of the Juniors won State Cup, the U-19, U-17, and U-16 team. The u-15's lost in the semifinals to the state champs. My brother was on the U-19 team but didn't play due to injury. Course he wasn't needed as the U-19 team won 9-0 in the finals. U-19 http://www.t7sports.com:8080/2005/k125918.htm U-17 http://www.t7sports.com:8080/2005/k125914.htm U-16 http://www.t7sports.com:8080/2005/k125912.htm U-15 http://www.t7sports.com:8080/2005/k125910.htm
Re: KCW Juniors Update Great results...and a surprising result in the U-15 finals. Congratulations to all.
Re: KCW Juniors Update Bump, U19s, U17s, and U16s are in Rockford today (through the 25th) for the Region II championships. http://www.region2.com/2008Cup/
Re: KCW Juniors Update Through the first two days, the Juniors were 3-0-3. The 16s went out this morning with a 1-1 draw. They actually beat the team that ended up making it out of their group.
Re: KCW Juniors Update They haven't posted the next round for the U-17's and U-19's, but the 17's lost 1-0, so they are out I believe. The U19's won and got through as their groups winners with a 2-0-1 record.
Re: KCW Juniors Update I got bad news at our family reunion this weekend...my cousin was cut from the KCW Juniors this month. There goes my hopes of having a family member play for the big club anytime soon.
Re: KCW Juniors Update That doesn't mean he's done. Almost every athlete has been cut at one point or another. I was just speaking with a Turkish coach that threw out one of the best players his country has ever seen out of their youth program when he was 15. That was attitude related more than skill related, but it's very important that he responds to being cut in the right way if he really wants to make it.
Re: KCW Juniors Update Thanks szaz. The good news is he and his father missed the family reunion because they stayed in KC to meet with some other clubs. Hopefully he will land on his feet,I just know he was real dissapointed.
Re: KCW Juniors Update Humorous match up for the U-19 team tomorrow. They take on Chicago Fire JRS. Red out of IL.
Re: KCW Juniors Update I'm not really one to start a poll, so I thought I'd just ask this question here. Which would you be more likely to attend? A Wizards Reserve match or a KCW Juniors match? For most Kansas Citians and even Wizards fans, the answer will be neither, but that doesn't matter. Even if you wouldn't attend, you probably have a level of disinterest that could be compared. I'm a superfan of the Wizards. I scour for news and argue online about the minutiae of the merits of Eloy Colombano. I also love watching players develop and picking future stars. However, I think I've only been to 1 reserve match. I don't get excited about watching the reserves face off against other MLS reserves. I check their standings and results a few times per season. I would probably say I'm "interested" if this was a public survey, but I never make the effort to see a match, and rarely even give it thought. So why is it that, and is it just me? In my mind at 20-25, a player is fairly well established. Regardless of what they're paid, they're not "developmental players". US soccer players have shown they tend to develop later, so that's somewhat false, but I still don't feel like I'm actually watching future Wizards as much as Wizards trivia mixed in with a rehabbing starter or young rookie on the cusp. Despite being filled with players who will never be as good as the Wizards Reserves, since the announcement that they're joining elite clubs around the country in the 2009 US Soccer Academy, I find myself much more interested in attending a local KCW Juniors match or tournament. Strange, because obviously the likelihood of a Wizards Reserve impacting the first 11 is much, much greater than the Juniors. This is because: a.) Many will be local kids b. ) I could be watching the future superstars of the Wizards and USMNT. c. ) I could be watching future superstars of rival MLS teams and USMNT. Am I alone in thinking this way?
Re: KCW Juniors Update You certainly are not alone. And I would add that there's that aspect of the youth teams representing Kansas City and the Wizards in their own right. They represent our proficiency with talent identification and development. When they succeed, our scouts succeed, when they fail, the club's future somehow doesn't look as bright as it did yesterday. Collectively I would say the youth system is much more significant to the club than the reserves could possibly be, even though individually you are more likely to see a reserve get into a senior game than a youth player.
Re: KCW Juniors Update So maybe my question was obvious for hardcore fans of the Wizards, but if there is also a consensus in the KC soccer community, the reasons for that are probably important to pay attention to in terms of making connections with local fans. The KCW Juniors, and the program they're embarking on seem like something that should be promoted more not just to the soccer community, but to all local kids (and parents) that would still be young enough to learn the sport and contribute to the Juniors. The possibilities: Free international travel without joining the army, college scholarships, a local or international professional career, the Olympics, World Cup, maybe just a start on a non-playing career in soccer. Especially because the teams are fully funded at a certain level, these seem like dreams any KC kid could realistically have, even if they don't know anything about the sport. So when the perks, incentive, and prestige are right, we should shout loudly! Everyone in our region should know about this new opportunity for their kids even if their parents hate soccer. The creation and support of IIT by the Indian government has been widely recognized as an important step in India becoming a leader in brain power globally. The government bankrolled the cost, set very high standards of admission, the rewards of success were lucrative, and even if you failed at the ultimate goal (in the Juniors case a soccer superstar), you would still be a better person and contribute to your country's future. The long odds don't hurt because failing can still create opportunities. IIT only takes 5,500 each year. Imagine if the Wizards had thousands of parents pushing their kids to prepare for the Juniors tryouts like Indian parents do with children for the IIT entrance exams. Sure we'd have the occasional Todd Marinovich, but man we'd be good at soccer. Teach for America might be a similar example.
Re: KCW Juniors Update I would rather watcht the Juniors, just because I can see many of the reserves up with the big club as subs...or under CO this year as starters! This brings up an idea that I have been toying with presenting to the Cauldron. Sure would be cool to have a big group of Cauldron members go to a local tournament and support the KCW Jr's. Even if it was just for a championship game. The "kids" would get a kick out of it, and it would probably be a good time for the folks in the cauldron. Would be great to get the Sudukas (sp?) in on it and have the front office back in with some mention on hillcrestroad and the team website. Anyone else think this would be a fun thing to do?
Re: KCW Juniors Update I'd rather watch the reserves, the odds of any of those kids on the juniors ever making it to the wizards is so small. Until the juniors expands and and has 9 and 10 year olds or around that and are being trained the Wizards way all the way up it's just another club soccer team to me. If you're going to go watch the juniors why not watch any of the other club teams in the area they're just as likely to have the next big player? Most of those kids from those teams won't even play competitively after u-18.
Re: KCW Juniors Update I don't know about that. Club teams that win state cup (like 3 of the Juniors teams did this year) usually have the majority of their players go on to play soccer in college at some level. That said, overall I agree with your point, I'd rather watch the reserves. Other then the name, there isn't much separating the team from other club teams in KC.
Re: KCW Juniors Update A much, much wider net with the very young is important to growing this. I see that as a large subsidized expense the team will want to approach at some point in the near future. I also agree about the very minute differences between the Juniors and normal club teams right now. I hope the unmatchable opportunities the club could offer are exploited fully to recruit the best talent. I should explain more. I'm not really interested in watching The KCW Juniors and their longshots against other KC clubs or State Cups. It wasn't all that compelling to me in 2007 from a time/effort standpoint. In 2009 however, we will finally be playing (regularly) the very best youth clubs around the country. Those Gallagher/Schulz/Solar clubs are just flat out fun to watch for me. Most of them play great soccer (by our standards) and they recruit heavily. The best of these kids will be representing our national teams. That's a big part of the appeal. I think I'd even be likely to pay to see a Dallas Cup style tournament that invites high profile international youth clubs and a few more top local clubs. I can't think of a similar situation (other than a planned Cauldron event) that would do the same with the Reserves under the current setup. The Reserves are pros not prospects to me, so while I'm interested in who is playing well, it doesn't have the same appeal. They do everything the senior roster players do at half (or 1/10) the price. Maybe if we were signing up the 16-18yr range for developmental slots as well, but these players are already developed.
I agree with that, watching them play against other high level clubs like the ones you've mentioned I'd be into but in general just watching them go out and play an mrl game against a team from nebraska holds no interest for me. Edit: Ultimately though I'm really looking forward to the day when each mls team has a full club system from u9 to u18, with coaches being paid full time to develop and bring along these kids. That's the only way that the u.s. as a country is truly going to start developing players on par with the other countries around the world.
Re: KCW Juniors Update Just got a call from my dad. U19 team won in the semifinals today 3-1 over the Fire Jrs. The other semifinal between Gallagher (MO) and the Bluejays (defending regional champions who they beat in group play) are in OT right now.