Toronto FC Academy

Discussion in 'MLS: Youth & Development' started by adammac19, Apr 7, 2008.

  1. devioustrevor

    devioustrevor Member

    Jun 17, 2007
    Napanee, Ontario
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada

    Christ. Sergio Camargo is only 15 y/o. Imagine the thrill for than lad if he got to run out at BMO in a Voyageurs Cup game.
     
  2. Trouble13

    Trouble13 New Member

    Apr 18, 2010
    Toronto
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Jamaica
    That would be great for him. But just training with the senior team should help his game.
     
  3. adammac19

    adammac19 BigSoccer Supporter

    Jan 31, 2006
    Sydney Mines
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
  4. GetGame

    GetGame Member

    Jan 1, 2006
    Vaughan, ON, CANADA
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada

    This change was considered, but not actually implemented, so you won't see a mix of NCAA Div 1 and Pro players on any CSL rosters this year...
     
  5. Balerion

    Balerion Member+

    Aug 5, 2006
    Roslindale, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The change eventually went through. Apparently it's already in effect; Juan Agudelo played for New York's U-18 squad a few weeks ago.
     
  6. jpg75

    jpg75 Member

    Jun 11, 2005
    Toronto, Canada
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    3 Academy players saw the field last night in a 0-0 draw with Vancouver. Doneil Henry went 90 minutes at CB, Allando Matheson played 67 minutes at F and Nicholas Lindsay subbed on at the start of the 2nd half and played RM. None of them looked out of place.
     
  7. devioustrevor

    devioustrevor Member

    Jun 17, 2007
    Napanee, Ontario
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    I was really impressed with Henry after his Yellow Card. Before it he looked a little overmatched, but the Card seemed to settle him down and he looked pretty good. Lindsay also looked terrific with the ball at his feet. He still needs to improve his crossing and needs to learn to pass before he dribbles himself into trouble.
     
  8. devioustrevor

    devioustrevor Member

    Jun 17, 2007
    Napanee, Ontario
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    TFC's Senior Academy Team (-ie- U-18 team) drew 4-4 with Chilean giants Colo-Colo on June 29th in Waterloo.

    Colo-Colo was contractually obligated to play it's 'A' team, so the young lads were playing the best Colo-Colo had.
     
  9. jpg75

    jpg75 Member

    Jun 11, 2005
    Toronto, Canada
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    Here's the writeup from TFC:

    http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2010/06/academy-draws-thrilling-match

    Nicholas Lindsay scored a hat-trick as Toronto FC Academy Senior Team put in an outstanding performance to tie 4-4 with Chile’s Colo Colo in an international friendly at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo last night. Toronto’s other goal came from Junior Academy forward Keven Aleman.

    The young Reds were 15 minutes away from pulling off a shock win leading 4-2, but Colo Colo scored two late goals.

    There is no underestimating the size of the achievement for the Academy who finished with five players from the Junior team on the pitch. Colo Colo started many of their first team players and made just two changes throughout the night.

    “It was a stunning performance from the best the Academy had to offer,” said Toronto FC Academy Manager Stuart Neely. “We showed discipline, desire and character against full professionals who are the Chillean first division champions. Getting a result and performance like this is the culmination of two years work coming to fruition in a 90 minute match and it was well worth the wait.”

    “Our players last night were tried and tested and responded with professional performances themselves. A lot of players put in very good performances but Oscar Cordon was simply amazing.”
     
  10. jpg75

    jpg75 Member

    Jun 11, 2005
    Toronto, Canada
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2010/06/coaches-proud-academy-performance

    Toronto FC Academy coaches have been talking of their pride at witnessing the young Reds draw 4-4 against Chilean giants Colo Colo in Waterloo on Tuesday night.

    Academy Senior Team Head Coach Jason Bent:

    "Tonight was a well played and very entertaining match that I am sure even the most ardent Colo Colo supporter would have been pleased to have witnessed. Our young players showed a really high level of football and to see just how far they have come over a relative short period of time is fantastic.”

    “We are so very proud of how they fought for each other, worked hard and passed the ball. After a bad start it would have been very easy for them to hide but on the contrary they continued to play and demand the ball from one another.”

    “In those environments you cannot have footballers hiding, you need brave players that want to get on the ball and make things happen which is certainly what we had in abundance tonight. I am delighted that Toronto Football Club trusted in both the Academy players and staff to play this high caliber match against a very good opponent in Colo Colo and even happier that our young players were exposed to that type of occasion which can only aid their football education."

    Academy Senior Team Assistant Coach Anthony Capotosto:

    "This match presented us with an opportunity to test ourselves against a top professional club from South America. Not only were our players competitive, they showed enough quality and ability to win the match. The performance was a reflection of how hard the players have been working in training. Last night, the entire Academy program took a massive step forward. At the conclusion of the match, there emerged a new belief that as young Canadian footballers...anything is possible!"

    The story of the game:

    The Young Reds’ resolve was tested early in the game when the South American visitors pounced on a TFC Academy error in their own defensive third after only three minutes when Lucas Wilchez dribbled past Garrett Cyprus in goal and scored into the empty net.

    TFC bounced back and started to find their way back into the match. Oscar Cordon was instrumental in everything Toronto did and he set up the Academy’s equalizer. Cordon got to the byline and cut the ball back for Nicholas Lindsay to redirect past the opposition goalkeeper.

    The end-to-end match continued only a minute later as Colo Colo showed their class with movement and technique to open up the TFC defence when Wilchez made a great run in behind the backline and unleashed a well placed strike into the top left corner of the goal to grab the lead 2-1 after only 11 minutes played.

    Young Sergio Camargo showed quick thinking to take a clever short free kick to Josh Janniere on the flank and the winger delivered a perfect cross to Nicholas Lindsay who rose well to head in his second of the match in the 24th minute and TFC Academy took the lead four minutes later when Ashtone Morgan showed excellent pace and footwork to dribble beyond his opponent to the byline before cutting back onto his right foot and delivering a ball that Keven Aleman did well to reach and slot past the Chilean keeper to give TFC a 3-2 lead going into the half time.

    The second half began inevitably with Colo Colo coming more into the match but credit TFC Academy as they continued to press forward in search of more goals, which eventually came in the 70th minute when Nicholas Lindsay completed a his hat trick in the 70th minute after a quick run found him in space beyond the Chilean defence and he calmly slotted into the corner for the 4-2 lead.

    Colo Colo threw players forward in an attempt to get themselves back into the game and they found an opening on the counter attack and ruthlessly punished Toronto team with a quick and decisive move finished by Jose Fuenzalida to make it 3-2. The comeback was complete when Colo Colo were awarded a corner kick deep into injury time. A driven ball to the back post saw a header blocked and then drop favorably for a Colo Colo attacker to sweep into the net from point blank range to level the game at 4-4. A score line that the paying public would not have expected at the start of the match.
     
  11. kompot

    kompot New Member

    Dec 21, 2008
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Poland
  12. Scorpion26

    Scorpion26 Member

    May 1, 2007
    NY
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    great article would be great for Canada to start improving and its does start with the youth. Can not wait to see Les Rouge make it into the world cup hopefully WC 2014.
     
  13. jpg75

    jpg75 Member

    Jun 11, 2005
    Toronto, Canada
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    TFCA Captain Doneil Henry is Toronto FC's first homegrown signing, he's a 17 year-old (1993) CB:

    http://www.thestar.com/sports/socce...5--brampton-teen-achieves-dream-with-tfc-deal

    Less than two years ago, Beverly and Donald Henry sat in the family car trying to console their youngest child, Doneil, as he cried after being cut from the Ontario Soccer Association provincial program.

    “If you want to play soccer, it’s up to you,” Beverly Henry told her son that day.

    Doneil listened. Just days later, he had a tryout with the fledgling Toronto FC Academy. On Thursday, the 17-year-old defender from Brampton made history, becoming the first player from that youth development program to sign a professional contract with the big club.

    “We can’t believe it happened so fast,” said Donald Henry, 47, who drives a delivery truck.

    “Because of his passion for the game and his discipline, we’ve always supported him,” said Beverly Henry, 44, general manager of a fast-food restaurant, who, like her husband, came here from Jamaica more than 20 years ago. “It’s nice to see someone know what they want and have the discipline to go after it.

    “We just continue to hope and pray that his positive attitude will get him wherever he wants in life.”

    Right now, that’s a starting position with the Reds. Doneil, who called the signing “a dream,” said his nearly two years at TFC have reinforced in his mind that he wants to be a professional soccer player.

    For the past couple of months, Doneil and a handful of other Academy players have trained daily with the Reds. That exposure, he said, has not only made him better but taught him about professionalism.

    “Every day we go hard with the ambition of pushing to the first team,” said the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder. “We all want to make it to next side of the change room where the first team is.

    “It’s everybody’s goal.”

    Academy coach Stuart Neely said from the moment they he met he believed Henry was “a true professional in the making.” Given his size, leadership skills and the development he’s already shown, Neely is confident that when he adjusts to the increased speed of MLS, he will make an impact.

    Henry, who recently played for Canada’s Under-20 team, has already appeared three times for TFC. He played all 90 minutes against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the final Canadian championship game, was named man of the match in an international friendly against English Premiership side Bolton Wanderers and started but came off in the first half in a CONCACAF Champions League match in Honduras in which he was victimized for an early goal against CD Motagua.

    Henry will now be eligible to suit up in Major League Soccer matches.

    General manager Mo Johnston said while Henry is the first player to move from the Academy to the big club, he won’t be the last. Such development is good for TFC and Canadian soccer, he said.

    “The kid’s handled himself very well,” Johnston said.

    Earl Cochrane, director of the Academy, which has 50 players aged 14 to 19, called it “a tremendous milestone day” for the program, which sees the youngsters go to school as well as train.

    Henry, who is going into Grade 12, will train with the first team in the morning and then attend classes at the Vaughan Road Academy. The school, which is part of the Toronto District School Board, has a program for athletes and other youngsters unable to attend regularly scheduled classes.

    Having their son complete high school was one of the things that made the Henrys feel good about Doneil’s choice to join the Academy.

    “We want him to stay humble and know that no matter how good you are at sports, you still need to have your education,” Beverly Henry said.
     
  14. phillypride

    phillypride Member

    Feb 10, 2007
    Philadelphia
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Awesome news for TFC. I'm glad another youth program is producing.

    Thanks for sharing this, but in the future, don't include the whole article. Just past an excerpt and let people click on the link if they want the whole thing. It's only fair to The Star (or whatever website you're linking to). That way, they get internet traffic to increase their ad revenue which they can use to keep paying reporters to write stories like this!
     
  15. kompot

    kompot New Member

    Dec 21, 2008
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Poland
  16. jpg75

    jpg75 Member

    Jun 11, 2005
    Toronto, Canada
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    Awesome!

    "...With TFC ownership approving a $17.6 million investment in a new training facility, planning is underway for the creation of a third academy team. Neely said he expects a program made up of U-14 and U-13 players to be up and running by spring 2012.

    And that’s just the beginning, Neely said.

    “It’s exciting,” Neely said. “We are looking to create U-15, U-13, U-11 all the way down to U-7 [teams]. That’s been the plan from Day 1.”

    With a new management team boasting experience in the world renowned Ajax youth system, it’s a reasonable assumption that the Reds will be relying on homegrown talent a great deal moving forward, Neely said. Last year, the club signed academy standouts Doneil Henry (pictured above) and Nicholas Lindsay (pictured below) to professional contracts...."
     
  17. jpg75

    jpg75 Member

    Jun 11, 2005
    Toronto, Canada
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
  18. jpg75

    jpg75 Member

    Jun 11, 2005
    Toronto, Canada
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    TFC sign 4 more Academy players, that's now 6!

    http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2011/03/toronto-fc-academy-graduates-four-more

    Toronto FC announced Thursday that they have signed four players from their Academy. Defender Ashtone Morgan, midfielders Oscar Cordon, Matt Stinson, and forward Keith Makubuya will all be making the step up to the First Team. They will be added to the roster as Home Grown Players.
     
  19. Coach J

    Coach J Member

    Aug 22, 2007
    Port Moody
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Does anybody know for sure if TFC is going to have teams in the USSDA next season?

    The Whitecaps are telling the local clubs that they're in and that all MLS clubs will be playing in it.

    Anyone know?
     
  20. jpg75

    jpg75 Member

    Jun 11, 2005
    Toronto, Canada
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    That's the first i've heard of that.

    If TFC were invited to join they might go, but then again I think they appreciate the development opportunity the kids are getting playing against grown men in a semi-pro league (CSL).
     
  21. Coach J

    Coach J Member

    Aug 22, 2007
    Port Moody
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    According to the Whitecaps... everyone is doing it! :rolleyes:

    Last time I talked to Dasovic about this, he said they researched it, found out the cost and balked at it.

    Didn't know if that philosophy changed or not.
     
  22. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    TFC and Vancouver joining the USSFDA literally makes no sense whatsoever.

    What does the USSF in USSFDA stand for? As far as I know, it stands for USSF.....as it's organized and supported by the United States Soccer Federation. Canada literally has nothing to do with it.

    If they do join, I think that'll let us now that it's officially MLS that's running the Development Academy now. And if they're going to do that........why not dump out all non-MLS teams, and form their own youth league?
     
  23. Balerion

    Balerion Member+

    Aug 5, 2006
    Roslindale, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A national youth league in a country with enormous geographic size seems like a poor use of resources. That's expensive. Furthermore, these U-16 and U-18 aren't professionals; they are high school students with schoolwork and such. It seems like overkill to fly them out to LA and back every other week.


    I mean, England regionalizes its youth leagues and England is smaller than Louisiana.
     
  24. jpg75

    jpg75 Member

    Jun 11, 2005
    Toronto, Canada
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    18 year old Oscar Cordon made his first MLS start last weekend:

    http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/mls/torontofc/article/979128--the-oscar-goes-to-toronto-fc

    And, while the Reds were dismantled 3-0 that night by D.C. United, Cordon acquitted himself well in an attacking midfield role. He pushed forward, looked confident on the ball and linked up well in completing passes with the strikers. The night’s performance earned him man of the match honours.

    ...Three nights earlier, Cordon made his MLS debut — against David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy — before a BMO Field sellout crowd of 22,453. He came on in the 79th minute of a 0-0 draw, completed all four passes and pursued and eventually stole the ball from the soccer celebrity.

    “I had watched games on TV where he was playing and now I was up against him, taking the ball away from him,” Cordon said smiling.

    “That was pretty cool.”

    After his two solid MLS outings, Cordon went home to the apartment he shares with his parents, younger brother Allan, 16, and sisters Valery, 6, and Denisse, 3, in the Jane-Finch area of North York. It’s hardly the glamorous lifestyle expected of a young professional athlete, even by relatively low-paying MLS standards. But Cordon wouldn’t have it any other way.

    “It’s the best feeling going home and seeing your parents and your family and knowing that you’re loved and you love them,” said Cordon
     
  25. adammac19

    adammac19 BigSoccer Supporter

    Jan 31, 2006
    Sydney Mines
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    Looks like a few players from the youth team going to try their hand in Europe.

    http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2011/05/academy-parts-ways-three
     

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