The KCW Juniors program is one of five youth soccer clubs chosen by U.S. Soccer out of 250 applicants to join the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, the United States' premier youth club competition. The KCW Juniors will field three teams during the 2009-2010 youth soccer season, with U-16 and U-18 teams competing in the Frontier Conference against some of the top youth clubs from around the Midwest. KCW Juniors U-16 and U-18 teams will be fully funded. The KCW Juniors will also field a U-14 team that will play in the Midwest Regional League and Kansas State Cup competitions. Tryout registration for all three teams is available through this link.
"The U.S. Soccer Development Academy creates an environment that is focused on developing the player while providing competitive games that challenge each individual player and team," Kansas City Wizards Technical Director Peter Vermes said. "We are pleased to enter the Development Academy in 2009 with our KCW Juniors U-16 and U-18 teams. The KCW Juniors philosophy of player development matches the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, and we look forward to competing against some of the top clubs from around the country."
The five new Academy clubs were selected from a pool of 250 applicants. Clubs were selected based on their potential to generate future national team players as determined by geographic location, coaching staff, administrative capabilities and national team coach site visits and evaluations. U.S. Soccer has limited the number of clubs admitted into the Academy each year to maintain the highest quality of competition in the program.
"Being chosen as one of the five clubs to join the Development Academy this year is a real honor," KCW Juniors DOC Jon Parry said. "U.S. Soccer put forth a rigorous selection process, and we were pleased that our program made grade. The Development Academy provides the resources and competition necessary to develop outstanding young soccer players. We look forward to competing in the Frontier Conference and the spring and fall showcases put together by U.S. Soccer. At the showcase that wrapped up this weekend, over 160 colleges were represented by coaches scouting Development Academy matches."
The KCW Juniors will hold tryouts for Academy teams June 11-12 at the team's Swope Park Training Center. Roster sizes for the U-16 and U-18 teams will be determined by the quality of the player pool at tryouts. Players must attend Day 1 of tryouts and be invited back to take part in Day 2. Younger players are invited to attend tryouts for teams in older age groups. U-17 players will be placed on the U-18 team, U-15 players on the U-16 team, U-13 players on the U-14 team and so on. The U.S. Soccer Development Academy determines age groups by calendar year of a player's birth. The U-18 division denotes players born in 1991 or later, while the U-16 team denotes players born in 1993 or later.
The U.S. Soccer Development Academy program was created to enhance the player development environment for elite youth players in the United States, according to U.S. Soccer Best Practices, with specific focus on increasing the number of training sessions, decreasing the total number of games while increasing the number of quality games and maintaining the highest level of coaching, refereeing and competition available in an everyday environment.
Aside from providing clubs with a soccer-centric environment, the Academy program also provides a platform to systematically improve the player identification and development processes. Over half of the Academy matches are attended by a national team scout, resulting in a comprehensive system to evaluate player, coach and referee talent. Academy coaches and athletes also receive video analysis from ProZone, a soccer-specific athletic training curriculum from SPARQ and Nutrition and Hydration recommendations from Gatorade's Sports Science Institute. The physical capabilities of Academy athletes are measured using SPARQ's soccer-specific tests and Gatorade's fluid loss tests.
In its second year, the Academy program has already dramatically impacted the player development process in the United States. In 2008, more than 100 players from Academy clubs were included in U.S. Youth National Teams and almost 800 graduates from the inaugural Academy class participated in college soccer the following fall. Virtually all college programs use the Academy program as a scouting vehicle and the program has received increased attention from professional scouts representing domestic and international clubs.
Tryouts:
The KCW Juniors will hold tryouts for their Academy teams June 11 - 12, 2009.
Location:
Kansas City Wizards Swope Park Training Center
6310 Lewis Road
Kansas City, MO 63132
Teams:
U-18 KCW Juniors Academy Team (1991)
Head Coach: Paul Rideout
Assistant Coach: Randall Porter
June 11 - 12
7:15-9:15 p.m. CT
REGISTER
U-16 KCW Juniors Academy Team (1993)
Head Coach: Jon Parry
Assistant Coach: Randall Porter
June 11 - 12
5-7 p.m. CT
REGISTER
U-14 KCW Juniors (1995-1996)#
Head Coach: Douda Kante
June 13 - 14
9-11a.m. CT
REGISTER
Players must attend the first tryout and must be invited back to attend the second day of tryouts #The U-14 team will use U.S. Youth Soccer cutoff date of Aug. 1
U.S. Soccer Development Academy Frontier Conference 2009-2010:
• Chicago Fire Juniors
• Chicago Magic
• Chicago Sockers
• Colorado Rapids Juniors
• Colorado Real
• Colorado Rush
• KCW Juniors
• FC Milwaukee
• Scott Gallagher Illinois
• Scott Gallagher Missouri
