The Kansas City Wizards announced the tryout times for the five KCW Juniors teams on Monday. The KCW Juniors will have teams in the U-13, U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-18 age groups for the 2008-2009 season and designate six Technical Staff members to those teams. The Wizards will also form a U-19 squad for players returning from college to have a place to train and a way to stay connected to the organization. The U-19 team will begin training this week.
Tryouts will be held June 14-15 for the U-13 team and June 16-18 for the U-15 through U-18 age groups. All tryouts will be held at the Wizards Swope Park Training Center. To register for tryouts, visit KCWizards.com.
"We are very pleased to add two age groups to our program this year and build upon the success experienced in year one of the KCW Juniors program," Technical Director Peter Vermes said. "We have assembled a great staff of coaches and have a beautiful facility for these young soccer players to utilize. With these resources, we look forward to developing the next generation of Kansas City Wizards players."
The 2008-2009 season will be important for the KCW Juniors program as members of the U-15, U-16 and U-17 teams will be eligible to compete in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy beginning in 2009-2010. Next season, the KCW Juniors U-16 and U-18 teams will compete against the best youth clubs from around the country under U.S. Soccer's umbrella. Beginning in 2009, both the U-16 and U-18 KCW Juniors teams will be fully funded.
"The members of our U-15, U-16 and U-17 teams will train this season with an eye toward joining the Development Academy next year," KCW Juniors DOC Jon Parry said. "U.S. Soccer has put together a great program that will help develop the elite player in this country, and we look forward to joining in 2009. Our goal is to have one of the strongest clubs in the country beginning with our first season in the Development Academy."
Six members of Kansas City's world-class Technical Staff will focus on the KCW Juniors, including Vermes, KCW Juniors Director of Coaching Jon Parry and Paul Rideout, who served as the head coach for all three KCW Juniors teams during the 2007-2008 season. Rideout is a former English Premier League player who scored a game-winning goal for Everton in the 1995 FA Cup final.
In addition, former MLS player Daouda Kante (U-13), Kansas City native Randall Porter (U-15, U-16) and Trinidad and Tobago native Romothy Quashie (goalkeepers) will be added to the staff in 2008-2009. As an added benefit due to his vision for the future of the Kansas City Wizards First Team, Vermes will use a hands-on approach in conjunction with Jon Parry for the KCW Juniors program in talent identification and training/development strategies. This will allow the Wizards training philosophies to remain consistent throughout the organization from the First Team's starting 11 to the members of the KCW Juniors U-13 team.
"We have put together an excellent group of soccer minds that have vast playing and coaching experience," Parry said. "Our coaches have been through the rigors of playing highly competitive soccer and will be able to help our KCW Juniors players prepare themselves for the highest levels of competition."
Each KCW Juniors team will practice a minimum of three times per week at the Wizards Swope Park Training Center. Speed, strength, agility and conditioning will be major focuses of KCW Juniors training. Kansas City Wizards Fitness Coach Dave Tenney and Scott Moody, founder and CEO of Center for Athletic Performance (CAP), will oversee training regiments for all Juniors teams. Juniors goalkeepers will also receive goalkeeper-specific training twice per week from Quashie.
"We are proud that the technology and know-how from which our Major League Soccer players benefit will be available to our youth players as well," Vermes said. "We strive to make every aspect of our organization world class from top to bottom. This is another example of that commitment."
2008-2009 KCW Juniors Teams and Coaches:
KCW Juniors DOC
- Jon Parry
U-13 Boys
- Daouda Kante / Paul Rideout / Randall Porter
U-15 Boys
- Jon Parry / Randall Porter
U-16 Boys
- Paul Rideout / Jon Parry / Randall Porter
U-17 Boys
- Paul Rideout / Jon Parry
U-18 Boys
- Paul Rideout / Jon Parry
U-19 Boys
- Jon Parry / Peter Vermes
Goalkeepers
- Romothy Quashie
Tryout Dates:
Kansas City Wizards Swope Park Training Center
6310 Lewis Road
Kansas City, MO 64132
Google Maps
Jon Parry - KCW Juniors DOC, U-15, U-16 Coach
Parry joined the KCW Juniors program as the Director of Coaching in January of 2008 and has an impressive background in soccer. Parry has over 15 years of coaching experience and has worked alongside of Peter Vermes for the past 4 years as the Director of Juniors for the Blue Valley Soccer Club. Prior to joining BVSC, he was the Head Coach for the Men's and Women's team at the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas. His playing experience includes the 1996 United States FUTSAL Team which competed in the World Championships, the 1998 team that played in the Brazilian Olympics, eight years of professional indoor soccer in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL), and college experience at Rockhurst. He was an All-Star four times in indoor leagues and finished his career with over 400 goals scored. With 93 career goals, Parry is the second all-time leading scorer at Rockhurst.
Paul Rideout - U-16, U-17, U-18 Coach
Rideout was born in England August 14, 1964 and turned pro at age 16. Rideout played forward for several years for the England U-18 and U-21 National teams, scoring over 30 career goals. He was top scorer for many clubs he played for, including: Swindon Town FC (England), Aston Villa FC (England) and AS Bari (Italy). Paul also played for world-renowned clubs such as Southampton FC (English Premiership), Glasgow Rangers FC (Scottish Premiership) and Everton FC (English Premiership). Rideout is probably best known for scoring the winning goal in 1995 for Everton to beat Manchester United 1-0 in the English FA Cup Final. Rideout went on to play in China 1997-98 before coming to the United States in 1998 to play for the Kansas City Wizards from 1998-1999 and then returning to the Chinese league until 2000. After his career, Rideout returned to the United States and began coaching in the area for KCFC Alliance Soccer Club. He had obtained his USSF "B" license in January 1999 and is a permanent resident of the United States.
Randall Porter - U-15, U-16 Coach
A Raytown High School graduate, Porter brings over 20 years of experience in soccer to the KCW Juniors coaching staff. Porter played collegiate soccer at Graceland University of NAIA, where he later served as an assistant coach during the team's 2006 NAIA National Championship. After college, Porter played professionally for the Sacramento Knights of the WISL. Porter has coached youth players for Elk Grove United (California), the KC Nomads and Blue Valley Stars, where he is currently an age-group coordinator.
Daouda Kante - U-13 Coach
Kante brings professional and international playing experience to the KCW Juniors coaching lineup that inclues three seasons in Major League Soccer and time with the Mali National Team. Kante spent 2002-2004 with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer, where he played 34 games (6 postseason) as a defender and scored one goal. He then spent one year with the Baltimore Blast of the MISL. Kante represented his home nation of Mali from 1996-2006, participating in three African Cup of Nations tournaments and various World Cup Qualifiers. Kante is currently an age group director at Kansas Rush Soccer Club and an assistant coach for the for the Baker University women's soccer team.
Romothy Quashie - Goalkeepers Coach
"Q" is native of Trinidad and Tobago, played goalkeeper for NCAA Division 1 Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina and was an Academy Coach at Ralph Lundy Soccer Academy. He will be providing Goalkeeper specific training twice per week.
