The MetroStars U-16 and U-14 youth teams will head to Tampa, Fla., to participate in the Super Y-League North American Finals, one of the biggest youth soccer tournaments on the continent. The tournament runs from Nov. 18-22.
One hundred twenty-eight of the best teams from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada will fight to be named the best soccer team in North America.
Although the MetroStars youth system has only been around for three years, they were recently named the No. 1 Super Y-League club for boys in all of North America.
While this is the first year of existence for the MetroStars U-14 team, head coach Stan Lembryk is confident about the team's chances.
"We have had a strong beginning to the newest addition to the Academy program," said Lembryk. "The team won the Super Y-League Metro Division with a record of 11-1-0. (That record) earned us a place in the North American Finals."
The MetroStars U-16 team comes into the tournament with a solid 9-1-1 record. The team has scored and impressive 41 goals while only surrendering five.
The U-16 team will be facing tough competition in the group stage of the tournament. Their first game is against Toms River Boca, another Metropolitan area team. The next games will be against the highly-regarded Washington Crossfire and West Kendall of Florida, who defeated the MetroStars U-17 team in the Super Y-League Final in 2003.
Expectations for the squad are high, but the coaching staff is keeping the team on an even keel.
"This is our first trip to a tournament of this level, so we will try to take each game one at a time and do our best," said Lembryk.
Coac Paul O'Donnell on the U-26 team also doesn't want to put too much pressure on his players.
"Our goal is to advance out of the group stages and see what happens after that," he said. "We feel that we can compete with any team in the country at this age group ... so the first hurdle is to advance."
Both coaches believe that strong youth systems are essential to the future success to the MetroStars and Major League Soccer.
"The Tri-State Area has always produced wonderful talent," said Lembryk. "To be able to see these hopeful youngsters come through our system and represent the first team would be great for our local players, (and) also a way for our fan base to have a personal connection. Also, it gives these potential players the environment needed to grow into young professionals."
O'Donnell agreed that youth academies were essential to the growth of soccer in the United States.
"The youth system is invaluable and is something that all MLS teams should look to invest in," said O'Donnell. "Recently, the MetroStars were named as the No. 1 Super Y-League club for boys in North America, and we just started this academy program three years ago. We have some very, very talented players on the U-14's and U-16's who could be playing for the MetroStars first team in the future."
