Chivas USA Youth Soccer Update: June 26

Welcome to this week's Chivas USA Youth Soccer Update, a roundup of Chivas USA's groundbreaking youth development program, including the Chivas USA Under-18 and U-16 teams (where the region's best talent compete, free of cost to the players, in the prestigious U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy) and the Chivas and Chivas USA Soccer Academies. For more information on Chivas USA's youth development program, please visit www.cdchivasusa.com.

CHIVAS USA YOUTH TEAMS HEAD TO GREENSBORO SHOWCASE AFTER CLOSING DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY SEASON:
The Chivas USA U-18 and U-16 teams are heading to Greensboro, N.C., for the Academy Summer Showcase this weekend after closing the Development Academy season last Saturday. Every one of the 126 Development Academy clubs will be in North Carolina to play three matches, starting tomorrow. This past Saturday, the Chivas USA Youth Teams played their last matches of the season in the Development Academy, U.S. Soccer's league of the top youth teams in the country. The eight Academy conference winners from around the country will soon arrive at The Home Depot Center for Finals Week of the competition, to be held from July 12-19, with all eight placement matches being broadcast live on ESPN2 and ESPNU.

CHIVAS USA U-16'S END SEASON ON EIGHT-MATCH UNBEATEN RUN:
The Chivas USA U-16 Team finished the inaugural Development Academy season this past Saturday with a 2-0 win over the Arsenal FC. The victory to close the season was the U-16's eighth consecutive match without a loss, and the team finishes the season tied for fifth place in the Southern California Division of the league. Against Arsenal, Clayton Eaton and Jorge Ramirez each scored in the first half to lead the team. The match was played in blazing heat at the University of California-Riverside, with temperatures soaring about 100 degrees on the turf. The Chivas USA U-16's end the season with a Development Academy record of 11-8-8, and four wins in the last five games.

CHIVAS USA U-18'S DRAW IN FINAL 2008 DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY MATCH:
The Chivas USA U-18 Team closed its season with an impressive 2-2 draw against second-place Arsenal FC. The Red-and-White close their season with a 14-9-4 record (W-L-T) and in fourth place of the Southern California Division of the Development Academy. The Chivas USA U-18's came from 1-0 down to take the lead 2-1 before halftime thanks to goals from Polo Moralez and Julio Garcia. In the second half, the Red-and-White played down a man after a second yellow card was shown to Omar Becerra, but the team continued to play well and even saw a shot off the crossbar before Arsenal equalized with less than ten minutes to play. The U-18's finished the year on a good run, with three wins and a tie in their last four games.

SECOND ANNUAL SUM U-17 CUP TO START JULY 4 IN COLORADO:
A team from Chivas USA's youth system will be at Soccer United Marketing's second annual Youth Development soccer tournament, SUM U-17 Cup, which kicks off on Friday, July 4 at the soccer complex at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. The tournament features 14 Major League Soccer sponsored U-17 Youth Development teams and will culminate with the championship game being played on Thursday, July 10. The Chivas USA U-17 Team will play on July 4, 5, and 7 in the Round-Robin stage, and then the semifinals and finals of the competition will take place on July 8 and 10. 14 teams will compete in a round robin group phase, with the four group winners advancing to the semifinals. The champion earns the coveted SUM U-17 Cup and gains the opportunity to participate in the 2009 Trofeo Quixote U-17 tournament in Madrid, Spain.

CHIVAS USA SOCCER CAMPS AND TRYOUTS START THIS WEEK:
Chivas USA's Soccer Camps, which also double as tryouts for the Chivas USA Youth Teams, will take place from June 26 to Aug. 30 at the Bell Gardens Sports Center in Bell Gardens, Calif. These camps will give players a chance to receive professional instruction from Chivas USA coaches, and could potentially lead to an invitation to join the Chivas USA U-18 or U-16 Teams, which participate in the United States Soccer Development Academy, or the highly competitive U-15 Team.

Schedule of 2008 Chivas USA Soccer Camps

WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR L.A. WATTS SUMMER GAMES SOCCER TOURNAMENTS:
As part of the 41st annual L.A. Watts Summer Games earlier this month, Chivas USA served as the title sponsor for the soccer tournaments, and also provided organizational assistance to the tournament. The boys tournament was won by Animo High School from Inglewood, and Sylmar High School earned the title on the girls side. The matches were all played at the Columbia Park Soccer Complex in Torrance, and included 32 boys teams and 20 girls teams.

'VERANO MLS' TO RETURN TO BELL GARDENS FOR SECOND YEAR:
Major League Soccer today announced the 2008 schedule for Verano MLS presented by Tang. In its second edition, Verano MLS, a free summer soccer program, will be offered by Chivas USA and other MLS teams in their home markets. Chivas USA will host the program at the Bell Gardens Sports Center, giving youth ages 8-12 a free opportunity to play pick-up-style soccer twice a week in a safe and controlled environment. The program will run from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. on selected dates in June and July.

2008 Verano MLS presented by Tang Schedule -
Chivas USA Location: Bell Gardens Sports Center
(8000 Park Lane, Bell Gardens, CA, 90201)
Dates: June 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 (First Group)
July 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24 (Second Group)

Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm each clinic date

CURRENT CHIVAS USA U-18 AND U-16 ROSTERS:
The final rosters for Chivas USA's U-18 and U-16 Teams in the Development Academy were fixed on April 1 until the end of the U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy's 2007-08 season this past weekend. Full team rosters are listed below:

Chivas USA Under-18 Team Roster (As of April 1, 2008)

Head Coach: Sacha van der Most van Spijk
Assistant Coach: Refugio Mancilla

Chivas USA Under-16 Team Roster (As of April 1, 2008)

Head Coach: Samuel Rivas




Assistant Coach: Miguel Ramos

DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY OVERVIEW:
The U.S Soccer Development Academy is a nationwide youth development initiative, organized by the U.S. Soccer Federation, featuring 63 of the top youth teams in the country competing in a league system at both the U-18 and U-16 levels. The first part of the season ran from October to November, and after a winter break the league has resumed play and will continue through the end of June. The 63 youth programs, including one U.S. Youth National Team in each age group, are divided into eight regions, each of which will send a single qualifier to the national finals to be held at The Home Depot Center after the regular season concludes in late June. For more information on the U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy, please visit www.ussoccer.com.