Opportunities for a few more Americans in the RIASA program. Forward C.J. Lyle and CM Adam McCabe will spend next week with RCS Charleroi of Belgium, and D Nick Pastuhov is being monitored by a Finnish club.
CJ Lyle and Adam McCabe returned from RCS Charleroi. They played in a reserve game and Lyle scored a goal http://riasa.org/blog?hid=641
As the student population expands, so does the number of teams RIASA fields. This season they will operate 5 teams: a developmental squad, u19, FC RIASA, and the main 1st and 2nd teams http://www.riasa.org/blog?hid=731
Here's a story with some details about RIASA: Just in case, though, they sent in some required paperwork about a week ago. She said the annual tuition is about $30,000, but with academic scholarships her son would be eligible for, she hopes the cost is lower than that lofty range....Cooper said that at Richmond, students are sorted onto three teams. The second and third teams are comparable to Division I programs in the United States, he said. The top team is a semipro squad."That's the one you want to be on because you can start to actually get paid," he said.http://www.salina.com/news/story/NEIGH-9-10
RIASA and Bradford City may integrate their developmental academies, which would allow some of the RIASA students to regularly face stronger competition than in the current system. A couple of the Canadian students have begun coaching with the developmental squads in preparation for beginning the UEFA B license process. http://riasa.org/blog?hid=801
This has finally been agreed and some of the top RIASA guys will begin play with Bradford's academy team in January. http://www.riasa.org/blog?hid=1051
Does anyone out there have any information (good or bad) regarding the International Academics & Soccer Academy at Leeds Metro University for Post-Graduates (players that have already fully utilized their NCAA eligibility)? I know the undergraduate program had some discussion several years ago. I am looking for info on the post grad academy. Thanks
RIASA player Mitch Boland is apparently with Garforth Town in what I believe is the ninth division. http://riasa.org/blog?hid=2012 http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/garforthtown/s/the-team-28959.html?player_id=1024516 He seems to have played at Loyola Marymount and Gonzaga. http://www.lmulions.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/mitch_boland_692505.html He's a big '90 defender from California.
CJ Lyle is also playing for Garforth and Mark Ellis, who is the director of RIASA, is also the teams GK coach. A lot of the players, both American and non-American, seem to be on the roster for Garforth. I'm pretty sure they have partnerships with local teams and allow the students to play on their squads, another team is Eccleshill United. Also the non-EU players are allowed to play with a student visa but they can only play at a certain level (hence the very low divisions). Looking over the RIASA roster on the website, it has certainly grown over the years
Snip: PENDLETON — While many of his fellow seniors are shopping to stock their college dorms, Brian Wolverton is preparing a passport. Wolverton, a Pendleton Heights senior, is bound for England to study and play soccer at the Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy, a university in Leeds, approximately three hours north of London. http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/v...-headed-to-England-to_1400726584#.U34HqfldV7c
I wonder if anybody has ever considered starting one of these college-level school-and-sport programs in the States? (Yes, I'm sure there are NCAA wisecracks to be made here...) What's to stop somebody from starting a pay-to-pay club that partners with a local educational institution and places a team or teams in the USL, for example?
There is nothing stopping it other than a likely lack of interest from US colleges. BYU has a team in the PDL which is similar (though not pay-to-play as far as I know). USL Pro is probably too high a level for it, though (for comparison, it appears this organization puts players on teams in the 9th and 10th levels in England).
@bungadiri - Thread merge? http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/yanks-with-eccleshill-united-in-england.1989470/
Here's a short article on a kid who trained at Benfica and apparently aspires to play at RIASA. http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140729/SPORTS31/407300322