Real Salt Lake today announced its next foray into the recent MLS Youth Development Initiative with the introduction of four elite youth teams at the U-16 and U-17 age groups that will compete in the United Soccer Leagues (USL) Super Y-League, the nation's premiere league for youth soccer clubs. Real Salt Lake will have two bases for this initial step into the Super Y-League, with the newly-formed RSL Utah and RSL Arizona clubs entering a team in both age groups out of the Salt Lake City and Phoenix areas, respectively.
"Last year, Major League Soccer challenged its clubs to create opportunities and develop elite young soccer players. The template was blank, so Real Salt Lake has taken a unique approach both inside and out of our designated geographic region of Arizona and Utah," said RSL General Manager Steve Pastorino. "Today, we announce that four teams will take the field wearing the RSL badge in a manner that hopefully inspires the very best players in this region to join us. As importantly, RSL is working alongside clubs in both states to ensure that this new program will bring players under the RSL umbrella in a way that will not encroach upon existing commitments to their clubs, high schools, state ODP programs, and collegiate aspirations."
The RSL Utah and RSL Arizona programs are involved with the creation of a Rocky Mountain Division within the USL Super Y-League, which will be announced shortly. RSL Utah and RSL Arizona today officially enter the RSL Youth Development system, which began in earnest last December with the formation of RSL Florida, a comprehensive youth soccer club for boys and girls players operating out of the Tampa area.
"The establishment of these four squads is just the latest step in Real Salt Lake's growing effort to develop young soccer players in the right way, providing them the tools they'll need both on and off the field to improve," said RSL Director of Soccer and Head Coach John Ellinger. "With the strong coaching staffs we've assembled at all three of our Youth Development branches, we have a tremendous group of teachers and evaluators that will not only help these kids grow, but also develop players that can eventually graduate to our senior roster."
As the club's Director of Soccer, Ellinger will direct the efforts of RSL's expanding youth soccer programs, and his previous experience as a 12-year coach on the US Soccer National staff and US Soccer's Director of Youth Development will provide him unique insight into the best ways to identify, coach and guide aspiring MLS players. RSL today also unveiled the roster of coaches that will work alongside Ellinger to lead the MLS club's four newest youth squads: Robin Fraser (RSL Arizona U-17s), Harry Demos (RSL Arizona U-16s), Greg Maas (RSL Utah U-17s), and Matt Ellinger (RSL Utah U-16s). Full bios for the four RSL Super Y-League head coaches are listed below.
Both RSL Utah and RSL Arizona have also enlisted quality help to fill assistant coaching roles with the newly-formed sides. Fraser's RSL Arizona U-17s will also work Tim Barmettler, who also serves as the Head Coach of the Mesa Community College Women's squad and was named the East Valley Tribune's 5A Coach of the Year last month for his work with the highland High School Boys squad. Demos has enlisted John Pearlman and Kier Cochran - both coaches with the Tucson Soccer Academy - to assist with the RSL Arizona U-16s. In addition, both Arizona squads will also receive assistance from goalkeeping coach Petar Draksin, who is also the current President of the Arizona Youth Soccer Association. Full bios for the four coaches are provided below.
Maas will be joined on the RSL Utah U-17 staff by Adolfo "Fito" Ovalle, the current Director of the La Roca Soccer Club in Davis County, Utah, whose playing experience included time with the Chilean National Team, Chilean club powerhouse Universidad Catolica, and the two-time USL Second Division champion Utah Blitzz. Meanwhile, Matt Ellinger and his RSL Utah U-16 side will have the assistance of former Miami Fusion FC player Matt Middelstaedt and Chad Sackett, current assistant coach for the BYU Cougars PDL squad and a former RSL Reserves netminder and UYSA ODP Goalkeeper Staff member, at its disposal.
All four of the new clubs have begun the process of identifying players for this summer's USL Y-League play. RSL Utah will host invite-only tryouts on April 29 and May 6, while RSL Arizona will release tryout information for its two squads in the upcoming weeks. For more information about tryouts, game schedules, fees, and other information, interested players should visit the "Youth Development" section of www.RealSaltLake.com.
About the USL Super Y-League
The future of soccer lives in the USL Super Y-League, a professionalized system that is the first step for developing elite youth soccer players in North America. Affiliated with US Soccer and partnered with US Club Soccer, the league is designed for talented youth players destined for professional or international careers. The league contains the youth academies of several Major League Soccer, USL First Division, USL Second Division, Premier Development League, and W-League clubs, as well as many of the established premier youth clubs. Through Olympic Development Program status events such as the North American Finals and National ODP Camps, the nation's top players are identified for selection to US National Team Programs. The 2006 campaign featured over 800 teams within the U13 - U17 boys and girls age groups competing within 10 geographic divisions of the U.S. and Canada.
RSL Utah/RSL Arizona Super Y-League Head Coaches
Harry Demos, RSL Arizona U-16 Head Coach: With his vast experience in Arizona soccer circles, current CCV Stars Soccer Club Director of Youth Soccer Operations Harry Demos is a natural choice to assist in the building of the RSL Arizona U-16 squad. Demos, a USSF "A" licensed coach, is a former Director of the Arizona Boys Olympic Development Program (ODP) and led his teams to 14 Arizona State Youth Championships as a head coach for Sereno SC and CISCO SC youth clubs, both based in Phoenix.
Matt Ellinger, RSL Utah U-16 Head Coach: Matt Ellinger joins the RSL Utah staff after spending the last two years with Sparta United Soccer Club, based out of Sandy, UT. Ellinger played two seasons at midfielder for Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., but saw his playing days cut short due to an injury suffered during his sophomore season for the Eagles.
Robin Fraser, RSL Arizona U-17 Head Coach: One of the most respected players to grace the field in Major League Soccer's 12-year history, Robin Fraser will now look to develop the next generation of MLS talent. After a successful 10 seasons in MLS, Fraser, a USSF "A" licensed coach, retired from the League following the 2005 season and moved with his family to the Phoenix area to take the Director of Coaching position at the Arizona Futbol Club. Fraser left his professional playing days behind only after earning numerous accolades, including the 1999 and 2004 MLS Defender of the Year awards, five nods to the MLS Best XI team, and five appearances in the MLS All-Star Game.
Greg Maas, RSL Utah U-17 Head Coach: Greg Maas currently serves as the State Technical Director of the Utah Youth Soccer Association (UYSA), where he is responsible for player development, coaching education, and the technical direction of the state association. Maas is also serving his fifth year as US Youth Soccer's Region IV Boys ODP Head Goalkeeper Coach. Maas is a former collegiate standout from the University of Portland, playing under one of the most respected coaches in US Soccer history - the late Clive Charles. Maas was the first professional goalkeeper to come out of the University of Portland, and enjoyed a professional career with FC Portland of the Western Soccer League (WSL) and the Portland Timbers of the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). Maas holds his USSF "A" License, USSF National Youth License, and his NSCAA International Premier Diploma. Maas also serves as a National Staff Coach and Instructor with US Soccer, US Youth Soccer, and the NSCAA.
