Monarch Bay - Good story. I'm a big believer that talent can be identified early. However, your tale is food for thought.
Is it safe to guess that Cowdrey is a superior athlete his trainer thought might benefit from a little "coaching up"? I suck now, but I got so much better between 15 and 17 that I'd hate to think people might have given up on me by 12. Of course, I was an average athlete so my ceiling was pretty low -- probably D1 benchwarmer at best. Cowdrey's may be much higher.
A very good athlete, but that was not the difference maker for him in my opinion. He is very smart. Learned his positioning very well and was willing to work hard on the ball skills. If I remember correctly, speaking of his athleticism, I think he is a cousin of AJ Godbolt of U of MD.
The 90s - U15 National Team- played a series of matches, their first, at the Nike Friendlies. It really is a good looking team. You may want to click here to see some details of the matches. http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/ScoreSheet/1101949592/view The 91s played their first matches - in two units - at the Thanksgiving ODP Interregional. YOu can see they struggled against the older players (the size difference in some cases was just too much) and then looked pretty good against each other at the end. http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/TrainingGround/1101530875/view I don't know when the 15s play again, although I think they will compete at Dallas Cup. The 14s, as noted, are on their way to Mexico.
Shouldn't the 15's be the more important team, since they are both older and will be our next set of u-17's? It doesn't seem like the 14's should go international before the 15's.
I wouldn't say it denotes greater importance. The 15s will have an international trip as well at some point.
I think we're confusing two different things here - 1) whether one can come into soccer "cold" at 12 and 2) how to project players forward from age 12. The European scouts aren't too keen about the success rate in trying 1). The 12 year old had better have some game. However, they generally won't make technique the #1 differentiator in determining the upside of a 12 year old. They'll focus instead on the things that they can't teach - speed, agility, mental focus, toughness, competitive attitude.
I think we're confusing two different things here - 1) whether one can come into soccer "cold" at 12 and 2) how to project players forward from age 12. The European scouts aren't too keen about the success rate in trying 1). The 12 year old had better have some game. However, they generally won't make technique the #1 differentiator in determining the upside of a 12 year old. They'll focus instead on the things that they can't teach - speed, agility, mental focus, toughness, competitive attitude. Of course, exceptions to every rule. Encounter a 12 year old Kaka and even if he's not a super athlete (as he apparently wasn't at that time, although he blossomed late and is now fast & large) there's probably room for that kid in your program.
A huge bump (sorry about that), but I just thought some would find it interesting to hear that Teal Bunbury has been called into the Canadian U17 developmental side (current U15's).
Interesting........he's been attending Shattuck St. Mary's a private school in Minnesota that started a soccer program with the Minnesota Thunder. Baba Omosegbon (Indiana) and Teal (Minnesota) were the two '90 Region II players they picked up for the school. There are also 4 '90s from Virginia on the team, of which 2 are on the '90 Region 1 ODP team (Derek Markheim and Seth Jacobs).
What have you all heard about Kelyn Rowe? I heard he went to an International Talent Showcase put on my U.S.F.C. (www.usfcsoccer.com). Apparently he's pretty good.