Toms River Youth Soccer Club emerged victorious in the inaugural Regional Development School/Club Alliance Invitational tournament after a great display of soccer from the entire U-14 Red Bull family. This event - billed as the first in an exciting annual display - brought together the three Club Alliance teams, as well as the Regional Development School, in an elite tournament held at the Giants Stadium Indoor Bubble on June 10.
As the first club to earn Club Alliance status, Toms River were appropriate winners, as they eventually overcame newcomers Downtown United in a thrilling final match. Eight sudden death penalty kicks were required to break the deadlock, as the two teams battled to a 3-3 tie before enduring a scoreless period of overtime. The Regional Development School finished in third place as they narrowly defeated the established Club Alliance Team, Staten Island United, 2-1.
All four teams displayed excellent technical ability and determination in the first meeting of the New York Red Bulls pre-academy programs.
"It was great to see so much exciting talent within our youth system," said Red Bull New York director of player development Giovanni Savarese, who was present to award the players with their medals. "We have a lot of promising players throughout the area and we look forward to many of them breaking through to our academy when they reach the pinnacle of their athletic development."
Toms River will look to defend their title next spring, when the Club Alliance teams again come head to head with some of the most promising players from the Regional Development School. The Regional Development School will also be running a number of elite summer camps throughout July and August. These exclusive camps offer advanced individual training within a competitive environment and give experienced travel players the opportunity to try out for future RDS tournament teams.
For more details on how to get involved with this flagship training program, please contact Simon Barrow, RDS Manager, at 201-583-7000 ext 7121 or sbarrow@newyorkredbulls.com. A limited number of spaces are available on this summer's elite camps, so to sign up immediately click here.
