San Jose Earthquakes Academy is on its way!

Tomo's a lefty but he can finish with his right. The key to that goal was getting the defender to think he was going right and having good close control with the ball. Can't remember the last time I saw a Quakes forward take on a defender like that 1v1, deking the guy to create space (stepover), and then score. DeRo and Vako are the two names that come to mind, but it's been a while.

 

Turns out American teenagers dream of being athletes, actors, musicians, gamers, and Youtube streamers...

All of the jobs teens currently aspire to are either very difficult or borderline impossible to get.

Except nurse (even doctor is extremely competitive) pic.twitter.com/AXRiqpPN2w

— Hunter📈🌈📊 (@StatisticUrban) March 27, 2025

 

I have heard that a huge number of youngish people want to be influencers

 

They’ve been influenced to think that that’s what they want to do.

 

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...ional-team-players-roster-april-training-camp


U-15 BOYS’ NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER – MARCH/APRIL TRAINING CAMP

Goalkeepers (3): Emmanuel Arias (Nashville SC), Connor Dale (Inter Miami CF), Jason Nemo (Chicago Fire FC)

Defenders (8): Jeremiah Alexander-Munoz (Charlotte FC), Jackson Bowman (Houston Dynamo FC), Oluwaseyitan Fakiyesi (Atlanta United FC), Christian Guillen Lopez (FC Dallas), Orion Jolliff (San Jose Earthquakes), Justus Jones (FC Dallas), Owen Jorgensen (St. Louis City SC), Finn McCraney (Chicago Fire FC)

Midfielders (7): Vinny Garcia (LA Galaxy), Christopher Morales (Chicago Fire FC), Eddie Niles (St. Louis City SC), Dylan Reyes (Houston Dynamo FC), Ali Sakr (FC Cincinnati), Noe Santillan (Atlanta United FC), Niccolo Vafiades (New York City FC)

Forwards (6): Jamil Danjaji (Columbus Crew), Alexander Hernandez (Colorado Rapids), Da'vian Kimbrough (Sacramento Republic FC), Apolo Marinch (Columbus Crew), Liam Stribling (Nashville SC), Blake Wilson (St. Louis City SC)

 

Diego Luna: A Breed of Player the US Soccer Program Desperately Needs - Urban Pitch

 

Yeah, big time...the article under sells him imo, he's actually a better player than those he's being compared to, or "complementing" on the team...and it isn't even close...the Dude puts in on the line for 90+ every time he gets the opportunity....he "gets it" to the nth degree.

 

I think the "underselling" throughout Luna's career is mostly due to the way he looks. He just doesn't look like a soccer player - stocky and top heavy - a very different kind of body for a soccer player. He's not fast but runs with "urgency" - hard to quantify what that is, but you can see it. You have to evaluate him just on the basis of what he can do.

 

I only see what he can do...and what it looks like in a nats jersey....when the writer says he complements guys like Weah and Wes...it pisses me off, it's sounds demeaning...because by merit, he should be putting those guys on the bench. It's the problem with the current crop of Euro starlings on the nats, fair weather mentally, bad decision making, hero balling...they only turn it on when they feel like it...no grit...Luna is a throwback, he's a breath of fresh air...gritty as hell, and skill that doesn't evaporate when he gets hit for the first time in a game. imo, he's the measuring stick Poch should use for any Nats player under consideration to play on the WC roster.

 

Today, @MLSNEXT unveiled its groundbreaking Quality of Play rankings for the U13 and U14 age group, which will go beyond the traditional results of the game to focus on complete performance of individuals and teams. https://t.co/oI6MAjZdiF

— MLS Communications (@MLS_PR) April 2, 2025

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-next-unveils-groundbreaking-quality-of-play-rankings

https://www.mlssoccer.com/mlsnext/qualityofplay/

Video:
https://mlssoccer.app.box.com/s/sikg4p8pn1jl3t0x92dur6qtcvfwjthv

 

The Town FC announce they will launch their own academy team

 

Seems redundant since the Quakes academy feeds The Town?

 

Why would two academies feeding into a third division development team not be better than one academy doing so?

 

Because the Quakes are supposed to own the technical side of The Town, and The Town was supposed to just own the business side. This muddies the waters. The Quakes have a hard enough time integrating their own academy players into The Town, how are they going to integrate players from another academy, one that they don't control? Ideally the way that players are developed should come all the down from parent club into the academy. What does it mean when there's another academy that doesn't necessarily have the same goals / methods, and yet is supposed to integrate into the parent club's 2nd team?

The Town would be better off putting that $ into the business side, which is what they are supposed to own.

 

The Town FC is its own organization that already existed with its own ownership and it never said it was solely going to exist as the branding/business side of the Quakes affiliate. Its owner always talked about building a youth soccer presence in the East Bay. Since it's going to be a merger with the existing MLS Next teams at Diablo Valley Soccer Club, it's not going to be connected to the Quakes' homegrown rights (unless they move players first to the Quakes academy before signing pro contracts). The Quakes won't have to integrate any players from The Town Academy unless they choose to sign those players.

 

OK, but seems like if you're going to run the business side of a 3rd division team, and an academy, that you'd like to have some control over whether or not your academy players play on your 3rd division team?

 

Perhaps, but if they want that control they'll need to start their own 3rd division team instead of throwing their shirt on players employed by someone else.

 

Well that’s my point. It’s not a super cohesive business strategy unless the Quakes partnership is just a bootstrap, in which case it’s not a strategic partnership for the Quakes either, and maybe they should start making other plans.

 

Not a good showing at GA cup. 2 L and 1 W at the group stage and finished bottom of the group

 

Luchi doing his magic.

 

I thought we should care more about "development" and not W-L record?

 

Reminds me of what Cade used to look like at his best,

 

Typical Fisher cheap-ass strategy...

 

Huge occupational hazard though, they tend to fall off cliffs taking selfies for content...

 

well this is the U18, so should've been "developed" by now .. it's their last year with the academy