I know Crossfire does not charge it's DA players (I believe both girls and boys). RISE Texans will not charge it's 19 DA and their top 19 girls team next year and the cost of travel for their 17 DA (this year they cover the cost of travel for the 19s and 17s). I'm sure there are a couple others that cover costs, but not sure. Anyone else have info on this...I would be curious who else is covering costs amongst amateur DA clubs
A few player movement updates. Levi Stephens (‘04) moves back to Internationals SC from Philadelphia Union. That’s confirmed. He played the first two games of the second half of the season with Internationals before the season was postponed. He had fallen out of favor at the Union and wasn’t playing much. Million Evans (‘05) is no longer at the Union, as well. Christopher Sanchez and Carlos Sanchez (‘05) are no longer at FC Dallas. From what I’ve seen and heard, Christopher is the real prospect of the two twins. With Evans and Sanchez club situations in limbo, that’s two of the top 3 ‘05 RB’s who are moving teams for now. As I’ve been watching some games recently, I’ve added a third player to that top tier group of ‘05 RB’s. I’ll have more on that later on today in a longer write up of some teams.
NYCFC U-15: I continue to like what I’ve seen of Kelvin Da Costa ('06) from NYCFC. He's a very complete CB. Nothing outstanding and I don't think he's a superstar type of player without significant skill-set improvements, but he does a lot well. He might be the best ‘06 at the club. Tyler Morck ('05) can seriously play. I said it recently, but he continues to impress. I'd consider him a YNT level player. I know he’s undersized (on top of being a very average athlete), but if he ever grows, he could be extremely good. He thinks the game and passes the ball at an elite level. San Antonio U-15: I like what I saw from Angel Bernal ('05) from San Antonio U-15. He’s similar to Fabrizio, but lacks some of the technical quality. That shouldn’t matter that much because Angel plays RB. The only thing I wasn’t sure about is if they are actually brothers. They look similar and have similarities in their skillset, but they appear to be from different parts of Texas. I also thought the LW Roberto Renteria ('05) wasn’t a bad player. He can dribble a little and the CF Kai Louviere ('05) has some good craftiness. That was all I saw from that team. Philadelphia Union U-15: I think Caden Grabfelder ('05) isn’t as good of a passer as I thought, but I think he has better dribbling and tackling than I initially thought. He can play as a physical box to box presence who has some underrated offense in his game. Aaron Heard ('06) might not be as creative and as good of a passer as I thought. It could also be that he was playing up a year. Not much I’d add about Dominic Dubon ('05) and Marcelo Mazzola ('05). Similar to what I had seen before. Excellent prospects IMO. Colorado Rapids U-15: Derek Lozano Villa ('05) is the biggest prospect in the team, but I'm not sure about his skill-set. Technically, he strikes the ball extremely well (shooting, passing) and has good composure in the final third. Athletically, he looks a little slower than he plays. He looks unathletic, but doesn't play it (likely that he's an adequate athlete but needs to get into better shape). Looks like a secondary striker type, IMO. I don't know that he's threatening enough to be a high level pro. Could he be Jose Villarreal in five years? Maybe. He has ability, but I wouldn't consider him a definite YNT level talent. Keith Chavarria ('05) in midfield is undersized but has great energy and tackling. He's not very successful on the ball, but at least tries to progress the ball. Tyler Conybear ('05) at CB can organize the back line and has some composure on the ball. The rest looked like non-prospects. Not a talented team IMO.
Keep a close eye on 2005 Nathan Rodrigues in San Jose. He is a left footed LCB with strong offensive skills. Basically a beast on both ends. The last game he played before the shutdown I watched him go coast to coast for a goal. His confidence is soaring and he had a nice growth spurt so his size allows him to be a weapon on set pieces. I don’t know if he could have dual national status. http://sjeq.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=12079600&player=868240792
Rodrigues' Instagram bio indicates he is Portuguese-American. FWIW, it also appears his teammate Dylan Tellado is Spanish-American. So that's two '05 Quakes academy players with apparent EU passport access.
That’s maybe good news that he doesn’t have Mexican heritage because he absolutely tore apart Hugo Perez’s U-15 team last month. It’s rare a centerback dominates a game they way he did. I thought I saw Perez do a face palm when the kid dribbled through all three lines to score a goal....
Da Costa is the second best 2006 after Mark Cajamarca who I think should be in contention to start at the 6 because he is a very clean and tidy player. Da Costa should get ynt looks as the teams always need capable CB's. The Tyler Morck take is facts...the kid can ball.
That was a great goal but good god that was some terrible defending. Definitely a good enough play to warrant a deeper look tomorrow. San Jose has really been stepping up and it’s been super under the radar to even most people who claim to follow ynt’s.
Very tight control for a center back. I believe he also scored on a header off a corner kick earlier in the game. I didn’t particularly notice him at the beginning of the season but he has been improving by leaps and bounds. His confidence is off the charts and I really doubt there are many left footed center backs in his league at the 05 level.
Before I deep dive later today, how would you grade his positional awareness? That's one of the most important things I look at because you can't teach that natural sense.
@David Kerr posted an article ranking MLS academies and hasn't posted it here so I'll post it for him. https://chasingacup.com/2020-ranking-of-mls-academies-23-11/
Once I figure out how to cut videos I'm going to do tons of player profiles for upcoming prospects. People need to know about the young upcoming yanks.
anyone talking about the eddie johnson athletic piece anywhere? https://theathletic.com/1700012/2020/03/25/eddie-johnson-coaching-pulisic/
Great article. Saw him in Dallas when he was young and he soon became a GAM. Interesting about working with Pulisic. I doubt he gets any flack from Orlando City now that Oscar's there as they were teammates.
I suspect so. He's gotten a number of calls to his age group YNT's with the USA, so I wouldn't be sure he'd jump ship right away, but its hard to know exactly.
He's Mexican-American. No way to know for sure about allegiances though he's been with the '02 USYNT at four or five camps, including the 2017 CONCACAF U15s and 2019 U17 Nike Friendlies.
I watched a number of games this week. Here was what I saw. San Jose U-15: I watched this team twice. I watched out for Nathan Rodrigues ('05), whose been mentioned here as a player to watch out for. I would say he's a little better than I initially thought. I didn't regard his game much prior. I didn't consider him a real prospect. Having played closer attention to him, I would say he's a fringe level YNT guy. He's good defensively, average speed/size/passer. He's probably one of the better players on his team and good at the DA level. I don't think there's much that stands out to make him a high-level prospect or a definite YNT player, but he's in that range where he could make it as a pro and turn into a YNT player with some further development. Niko Tsikiris ('05) is a similar type of player in midfield. Very average across the board. Good at the DA level. Doesn't do much that stands out. Fringe YNT player. Emmanuel Ochoa ('05) is the big prospect in this age group for San Jose. I don't know if he's as good as the early hype, but I would consider him the best '05 goalie right now. #19 was very good. Winger with very good speed, dribbling and good enough end-product. I'm not sure who this player is though. There's a #19 on the roster, but that player has only played four games this season. It could be that player, but I'm going to hold off on thinking its that player until I have more confirmation. PDP U-15: I watched the player that @jeff_adams said was must watch in the link he posted in one of these threads. That kid was extremely good, so he was right about that. This kid had unbelievable dribbling skills and good speed. He scored and assisted a few goals in that game, but that had more to do with the quality of the Sacramento Republic U-15 side. After doing some googling, I've found that this kid is named Alexis Luna. He's from Stanislaus County, but I can't find much else about him. From my googling, I suspect he's an ('05), but I'm not sure. LA Galaxy U-15: Very weak age group for LAG, IMO. As of now, there are only two guys I'd consider prospects. Demetrious Tanks ('05) is a tremendous athlete and defensive player at CB. Big, physical, very fast, good in the air and he reads the game exceptionally well. His passing is adequate. It could use some work. Thats the biggest weakness in his game. I also like Adriel Rocha ('05). There are definite shades of Johnny Perez in how he plays. Very skilled left-footed AM with good passing vision, creativity and soccer IQ. The main question will be his athleticism. He was used at LW in this game. I think he'd be better suited at CAM, and if not, I'd even prefer him at RW instead of LW. He's a player who I think will start getting more hype soon. Seattle U-15: Reed Baker-Whiting ('05) was dominant. Completely bossed the game in all facets (offensively, defensively, transition). He plays such a simple game, but it's very effective. I don't know if he has huge upside because he's not exceptionally skilled as a CM, but he's one of the most pro ready players at his age that you'll see. In another year, he might be ready to play regularly in the USL team. Angel Martinez ('05) showed well at CB, but not as well I would've liked. He has some defensive lapses, and I'd say his size/athleticism is more suited to defensive midfield. He's a good DM prospect, but I don't know that he's the star prospect that some might've initially suspected when he was called into the '04 YNT in recent years. He's definitely been passed by Baker Whiting at Seattle, if Baker-Whiting wasn't better the whole time. Joshua Hardin ('05) didn't show much at RW. As I've said a few times, I don't think he has enough offense in his game to be a winger. I think he's going to need to be a RB or RWB. James Lear ('05) is a towering CF with very good mobility and combination play. He holds the ball up well, understands the game well and plays a very simple and effective game. He's not overly skilled or that good of a goal-scorer, but he does have some very good tools that make him worth mentioning. North Carolina FC U-15: I watched a few games from this team. The only real prospect from this team is Nicholas Holliday ('06), who plays up an age group. He's a raw, but talented goalie. He has a significant number of errors in his game, but considering his age, I don't think it's anything abnormal. He's not yet a great player, but at his age, it's more about the potential the players show. He has good size, shot stopping ability, is very quick off his line and is pretty good playing out of the back. There's definite potential there to be a YNT level player. He's one of the better '06 keepers I've seen so far. New England U-15: Malcolm Fry ('05) reminds me a lot of Justin Rennicks. Very good athlete with some dribbling ability, can play striker or out wide. Not the most technical, but probably has enough technical ability in his game. Noel Buck ('05) had a weak game in CM. Matiwos Rumley ('05) is very similar to Demetrious Tanks, but a left-footed version. Incredibly good defensively and a very good athlete. Passing is only around average. He's the best prospect of the three New England guys IMO. Houston U-15: I watched a few games from this team, and I was very impressed. I think they have some very good talent at the lower levels, and in a few years will be challenging FC Dallas. Hopefully they keep Ramos as coach for 3-4 years because they'll have some real talent for him to play then, if he's still the coach. Luis Moreno ('06) was the main standout IMO. He looks like he's playing in slow motion because he sees the game a few steps ahead of everyone else. One of the higher soccer IQ's I've seen from a young American. Such a fun player to watch play. Also very good technically. Position questions will be inevitable though. He plays as a #8, but size/athleticism is below-average, and he might not have the offense to play CAM. Even if he doesn't turn into a very good pro prospect, he will dominate games at the DA level for years. Chris Guillen ('07) held his own playing up two years. Physically, he could break kids his own age. He might be an early developer (like a Carter-Vickers). I haven't seen enough to make much of a determination on his full skill-set. Jhosua Jory ('05) hadn't impressed me the first game I saw of him months ago, but the more I watch, the more of his game I think has high potential. He's an incredible dribbler with skill, creativity and speed. Little else, but he's young enough that if that one tool is elite, the rest of his game could develop. If it does, he could be very good. Listed as a Colombian citizen. Juan Esteban Godinez Castellanos ('05) looks like a solid all-around keeper. One of the better keepers I've seen in the '05 age group. Listed as a Mexican citizen. Zacarias Bowie-Escobar ('05) has really good ball skills for a CF, athletic, can combine and score. Talented player, but apparently inconsistent. Probably wouldn't be out of place in the '05 YNT. I haven't seen more than 1-2 CF's better. Evan Jimerson ('05) is a good offensive LB/LWB. Can pass, dribble and has a good soccer IQ. A little undersized and athleticism is probably not any better than average, if even that. Inter Miami U-15: I also watched a few games from this team. Axel Perez ('07) is the hyped guy in this team. I had seen him play before, and he was excellent. He wasn't as good in these games. He has some potential from the #10 position, and competes physically surprisingly well for an undersized player whose playing up two years, but he clearly can't impact the game as a playmaker to the extent that he might be able to in his normal age group. I suspect he's probably one of the best players in his age group (although thats merely a guess), but I don't think he's a prodigy level player. Miles Perkovich ('06) was impressive, but I only saw him play briefly. Good dribbler in midfield and good athleticism, as well. I'd need to see more, but my initial impression was that he's a good prospect. Israel Boatright ('05) was probably the best player in the team. He's a RB with very good skill level going forward, good athleticism, speed, and power. His touch isn't great and he's a high risk style of RB, so he does have some defensive errors occasionally. I'd like to see him used as a box to box CM, but even as a RB/RWB, he's a good prospect. Might be the best RB prospect in '05. Mikhail Keise ('05) is reminiscent of Auston Trusty/Matt Miazga. Big CB, moves a lot better than you'd think, good defensively. Passing is around average, but he's there more for his defensive presence. Felipe Valencia ('05) looked a lot better than the game I had previously seen. He was recently called into the '05 YNT, and I can see why. He's a very skilled left-footed RW who has good goal-scoring instincts. I like his creativity and he's a good athlete. I would say it's very close between him and Boatwright for best '05 prospect in the team. Inter Miami U-17: This team had a lot of good players. The starting XI had 9-10 good or better DA players, which is a lot, even for the better MLS academies. If the DA season ever resumes, I wouldn't be surprised to see them make a big run in the playoffs. The best prospects were Dairon Reyes ('03) and Kobi Henry ('04). Reyes played as a #10, but could probably play anywhere in attack. He's a left-footed all-around attacker. Very good ball-skills, athletic, good shot (scored a very nice goal), can combine and shows good passing vision. He was also surprisingly physical and powerful. Defenders struggled to bring him to the ground when fouling him. He's listed as a Cuban citizen. This is his first season in the DA, so its hard to know how long he's been here by his DA page. Very talented player though. Kobi Henry ('04) is a good CB prospect. He was at the recent YNT camp for the age group. Mobile, defends well, adequate size, adequate on the ball. He could probably also play RB. Not the highest upside guy, but probably will play pro soccer. Edison Azcona ('03) the LW was a talented playmaker. Good ball skills and passing. Athletically limited. Could have more success as a #10. Both full-backs aren't bad players either, Noah Allen ('04) at LB and Logan Batiste ('04) at RB. Batiste is probably the slightly better of the two due to better ball skills, but both are well-rounded players. Not much stands out. Andres Cardenas ('03) and Andre Zuluaga ('03) are two hyped players with YNT caps that they poached from Weston FC. I don't see that much potential in either, but I wouldn't say they are bad players either. Definitely good at the DA level. LAFC U-17: Erik Duenas ('04) was very good in the game I saw. I don't know if I've ever seen him play a game where he wasn't one of the best players on the field. I have no clue who he isn't more of a regular with his YNT age group, especially considering how weak the team is at fullback. He's a lot better than some of the options they've been using. He's very good going forward with his passing and dribbling. I think he has a high soccer IQ, he's athletic enough for an undersized RB, and he defends well. I don't see much wrong with his game. Antonio Leone ('04) was very effective without playing a very active game. For a CB, that's not always a bad thing. Portland Timbers U-17: I watched this team twice. The first team I didn't see a worthwhile prospect. They weren't using any of their real prospects in this game. The second game they were using a few guys that I think are worth mentioning. Spencer Brown ('04) in goal was pretty good. He's a little undersized, but very quick and looks to be a reliable keeper in all regards. He might not be a high caliber prospect and in a year with many great GK prospects, he might not be a YNT level keeper, but I thought he was good and he's someone worth monitoring. Unfortunately, Portland has a glut of keepers on their U-17 team, and he's only played three games, likely because he's the youngest keeper on the team. This was also the first game I saw of Gerardo Duran ('03). He was good, although not much better than that. I would've expected better, but he showed well. He's worth monitoring, but I wouldn't say a sure thing pro or YNT player. He's a pretty good athlete for an AM (I think he could play wide or centrally), can dribble a little, pass a little. Nothing hugely standout from what I saw. Looks well-rounded. Real Salt Lake U-17: I saw four games of this team. It's a good team with a lot of good DA players. Only a few have real pro upside though. Jeff Dewsnup ('04) was predictably very good. I wouldn't say he was dominant, and I think I've decided a little more permanently now on Brady over Dewsnup for the top '04 keeper because Brady probably is a little better right now in keeping the ball out of the goal, but Dewsnup has tremendous upside. What separates him from the other top '04 keepers is his ability to play out of the back. He's the best I've seen in this area since Justin Garces. He actually reminds me a lot of Garces, but is probably better. Dewsnup has the occasional error in him. I'd like him to be a little more aggressive on aerial balls floated into the box, but he's usually very sure-handed, has very good reflexes and good size. Zach Booth ('04) has definitely improved a lot in the last few months. I wasn't wrong with saying he wasn't as good a few months ago as he is now. He played in two of the four games I saw, both from November. The first game he was being played out of position at LB. He scored a goal playing the first half at LW and the second half at LB, but he didn't show more than flashes. The second game he played CM, but probably showed even less than he did in the first game. I think the main difference is that he's a little more athletic and assertive in stamping his authority on the game than he was in November. I can't say how thats happened, but it clearly is there when you watch the games. Kevin Mearse ('04) has a good reputation and he looks very talented, but I just haven't seen much. He's smooth in midfield possessing the ball with good athleticism. He also works hard defensively, but he plays such a conservative game. Nothing adventurous and doesn't make many plays that stand out. In a U-17 game, you have to stand out to a larger extent than he does IMO. Christian Nydegger ('03) works extremely hard in CM. He's a complete workhorse. He looks unathletic, but the athleticism doesn't play too poorly. He has above-average technical ability. He's probably not much better than a workmanlike pro, but there is some pro potential IMO. Julian Lomeli ('03) probably doesn't have the athleticism/offensive game combo to be a pro at fullback. He's a smart player and defends well, but I would say good DA player might be the limit. Similarly, Jaziel Orozco ('04) has good versatility, capable of playing anywhere in defense or even as a CM, but I don't think he does anything at a pro level. A lot at a good level for the DA, but nothing that will carry him to the pro level IMO. I like Abel Mendoza ('03) a little more than the previous two. He has a good combination of composure on the ball in CM and defensive presence. He's also more athletic than the prior two. Versatility to play CB doesn't hurt. I don't know if his upside is high, but like Nydegger, he could carve out a pro career. Esequiel Coronel ('03) is probably the third best pro prospect in the team. He's an attacking mid, capable of playing either out wide or centrally. He's a very good dribbler and combines well. He has a low center of gravity and has excellent ball control. He has enough passing and goal-scoring in his game, but I wouldn't say his offense is anything too great. He's more of a Argentine style winger who relies a lot on dribbling ability and combination play. Sacramento Republic U-19/San Diego Surf U-19: This was one of the worst DA games I've seen all season. The level of play was shockingly low that I turned it off just before halftime. I had seen enough, and am confident I didn't miss anything important. Michael Sherlock ('03) from San Diego Surf wasn't a bad box to box CM. Workmanlike, can pass the ball, good athlete. Nothing too great, but could carve out a pro career. Rafael Jauregui ('04) was probably the most notable pro prospect on the field. Rather mediocre performance from him, but he was also playing up two years. I wouldn't consider him much of a high-level prospect, but he does have some YNT caps.
He is a 2005 or a 2006 but I believe his is a 05. There is a lot of stuff about him playing with his club's 05's so he can't be an 04. California DA's should be after this kid immediately.
I think Axel Perez is the best in his age group and has the star potential but I am worried about how he physically develops. Evan Rotundo was just as good at his age and once other players matured they caught up to him. Hopefully the coaching staff at Inter Miami teach him to create danger more often but him not becoming physically capable of playing at the highest level similarly to Rotundo is very realistic.
I think the team he is playing on is coached by his Dad. The Quakes certainly see him as a prospect but maybe he has options outside the US.
He’s good in that area. Unlike his goal clip, he doesn’t carry the ball a lot. He has the confidence to step around a onrushing striker and move into the midfield to make a better pass. I think one of the keys to his ascension as a player was an early February college coach’s scrimmage where the Quakes invited Sac Republic and I think De Anza Force for a day of soccer in front of college scouts. It was for U17s but each team played 3 mini games of 45 minutes. The Quakes brought up some extra players from the U15s to fill in and Rodrigues was one of the U15s that stood out in the game he played. The fact he was so solid against older players really boosted his confidence and he was a different player in the following games. Hopefully he can continue on his development when DA resumes because athletically he was the best on the U15 team, probably even over Ochoa.