Pizza Hut Park to Host 2nd US Developmental Academy
October 19th, 2007 . 8:42 am . By: Buzz CarrickThe U.S. Soccer Development Academy will stage its Winter Showcase at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas from Feb. 16-18, 2008. The U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups will each boast 43 elite teams from across the country and a total of 86 games that will be played over the course of the weekend. Academy Winter Showcase Features 43 Academy Clubs and 86 Games; Pizza Hut Park to Host Second of Four Showcases. Clubs from 19 different states will be represented in Frisco, with California and New York sending five each, while North Carolina , Illinois and Ohio will each send four. Every team will play two games with teams against non-conference opponents to complement their intraconference schedule. The complete Winter Showcase schedule will be announced at a later date. The showcase will also feature the nation’s top referees as selected by U.S. Soccer’s Professional Referee Assignors. The referees at the weekend’s matches will be trained and evaluated by the top members of the U.S. Soccer referee department. The U-17/18 competition for players born after Jan. 1, 1989, will play 90 minute games, while the U-15/16 competition for players born after Jan. 1, 1991, will play 80 minute games. Both age groups are limited to seven substitutions with no re-entry. The Academy Winter Showcase is one of four Showcases throughout the 2007-08 season. The Spring Showcase will be held from May 24-27 and the Summer Showcase will take place June 27-30 at sites to be determined. The first Fall Showcase was held Oct. 6-9 at The Home Depot Center in Carson , Calif. At the inaugural Fall Showcase held at The Home Depot Center in Carson , Calif. , on Oct. 6-8, 38 teams played 38 matches in a focus soccer setting in front of scores of U.S. National Team coaches, college coaches and scouts, including national team coaches Bob Bradley, Thomas Rongen and John Hackworth. U.S. Soccer also provided a athletes’ lounge, complete with laptops and furniture provided by Nike, televisions for Xbox Live and plenty of Gatorade products. In a broad move designed to improve the development environment for players throughout the country, the U.S. Soccer Federation has taken the initiative in formalizing the nationwide development academy. Created to provide players with the best possible opportunity to develop, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy was initiated after a comprehensive review of player development systems in the United States and around the world. The showcase matches are part of a nine-month season in which 122 teams will compete in more than 1,800 matches in conference play. With 2,440 players, 244 coaches and more than 200 referees participating in individual conference games, travel partner weekends and showcase weekends, the Academy boasts the most comprehensive platform for youth competition in U.S. Soccer history. Winter Showcase Participating Clubs
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Sounds like a good offseason money maker. Lots of money spent on youth soccer with very limited results.
Buzz, correct me if I wrong, but wasn’t there a Texas team originally involved in the Dev. Academy?
Also, any word on tickets to this event?
Jeff, if there was a Texas team it wasn’t a Dallas area team, maybe Houston area. In reality they will have to join together or travel will be ridiculous. 3-4 teams from Dallas and Houston and maybe one from Austin and San Antonio and you have an 8-10 team league.
I don’t think you need tickets. Although don’t quote me on that.
as far as I know there was never a Texas team. But I would have to check.
Texans and Solar joined the developmental league thing…. I forget who sponsored it. It’s about 20 of the best clubs in the country… it was a response to the MLS Youth Clubs. I’ll look that up.
http://www.redbullnl.com/boysU17/#/en/