Former professional soccer player, Charlie Cooke, was in town this past weekend hosting a Coerver Coaching Diploma Course in Sacramento. The two day course is designed to help educate coaches on how to teach the technical side of the game.

Charlie had a great career as a player. He played for Aberdeen, Dundee, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, in addition to finishing up his career in the U.S.  He also represented Scotland on the National Team, earning 16 caps.

Placer United Girls Director of Coaching, Ron Benjamin, has been working with Charlie for the past thirteen years as the Coerver-Norcal Director of camps and clinics. Placer United coaches Todd DeCarlo and Bart Morefield met up with Ron and Charlie at the Coerver Social in Roseville this past weekend.

Coach Todd DeCarlo, Director of Coaching Ron Benjamin, Charlie Cooke, Coach Bart Morefield

Coach Gene in the goal at the home of the Portland Timbers.

Coach Gene is a well travelled former soccer professional. He was a member of the U.S. National and Olympic teams, a collegiate National Champion and a long time player in the North American Soccer League (NASL).

Earlier this week, Gene had the opportunity to vist the home of Major League Soccer team Portland Timbers.  He met with one of our good friends, John Galas, who works for the Portland Timbers and also works for the Portland Thorns, one of the teams in the newly formed National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

This was a special event for Coach Gene as he was one of the professional soccer players who helped get men’s professional soccer on the map. He is very proud of Major League Soccer and it’s success.  The former professionals have paved the way for what our league is today.

Coach Gene did not look out of place, standing in goal on the Portland Timbers home field! He may have a few matches left in him!

Placer United players continue to excel away from their Club teams as Norcal Player Development Program (PDP) Announces Regional and State  Pools for the 2013-2014 season. Congratulations to the following Placer United Soccer Club players:

US National Team – Cody Sunquist

Nor Cal State Team – Cameron Douglas, Alejandro Perez, Jordan Vice.

Region 6 2000 Player Pool – Benji Kikanovic, Clare Murphy, Isabella Perez, Emily Talmi

Region 6 2001 Player Pool – Jenna Ladrech, Cade Mawson, Ryan McKinley, Marina Soares, Kirsten Webb

Region 6 2002 Player Pool – Noah Collins , Lucas English, Christian Jimenez, Miciah Kirton, Jake Sieber, Samir Tarazi, Christian Villanueva, Fernando Zepeda

Congratulations to all of the Placer United players who competed for spots on the PDP team.  Great job!

U.S. SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY ANNOUNCES 22 NEW CLUBS
FOR LAUNCH OF 2013-14 UNDER-13/14 ACADEMY SEASON 

New Teams to Join Academy’s Existing Clubs in New Age Group

CHICAGO (March 18, 2013) – The U.S. Soccer Development Academy has announced the inclusion of 22 new clubs to the Under-13/14 age division in preparation for the inaugural 2013-14 season. The new clubs will join existing Academy clubs in the new U-13/14 program starting next fall.

The U-13/14 Academy program is based on the same philosophy as the older Academy age groups, which features more training sessions, less games and more meaningful competition. The competitive schedule will place a greater emphasis on local games due to the younger ages of the players and will also include a futsal component during the winter (U.S. Soccer Youth Invitational Events).

In the coming weeks, the Development Academy will announce the full 2013-14 schedule and team/division breakdown for the U-13/14 Academy season (U-13/14 Academy Home Page).

“We are excited to add 22 new clubs to the Development Academy system in the U-13/14 age group,” Development Academy Director of Scouting Tony Lepore said. “We feel that it is very important to spread the Academy philosophy to an expanded pool of players and clubs in this age group as we launch our first season of U-13/14 programming this fall. The new clubs have the qualities we look for in the areas of coaching, player pools, training programs, facilities, infrastructure and age-appropriate development philosophy. They are also well located and based in key markets that help to expand the elite player pool in this age group, while incorporating a model that minimizes the amount of travel and costs for league play.”

• U-13/14 Webinar with Tony Lepore | U-13/14 Academy Conference Call Quote Sheet

The following clubs have been accepted as part of the new U-13/14 program:

Los Angeles/San Diego Market (5 clubs):
Albion SC (San Diego, Calif.)
Central California Aztecs (Bakersfield, Calif.)
FC Golden State (Pasadena, Calif.)
Los Angeles Futbal Academy (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Santa Barbara Soccer Club (Santa Barbara, Calif.)

San Francisco Market (7 clubs):
Ballistic United Soccer Club (Pleasanton, Calif.)
Burlingame Soccer Club (Burlingame, Calif.)
Diablo Futbol Club (Concord, Calif.)
Juventus Sport Club (Redwood City, Calif.)
Marin FC Alliance (Greenbrae, Calif.)
Merced Atlas Soccer Academy (Merced, Calif.)
Placer United Soccer Club (Rocklin, Calif.)

New York/New England Market (3 clubs):
Beachside of Connecticut Soccer Club (Norwalk, Conn.)
New York Soccer Club (Chappaqua, N.Y.)
World Class FC (WCFC) (Orangeburg, N.Y.)

Washington, D.C. Market (2 clubs):
Bethesda Soccer Club/OBGC Soccer (Frederick, Md.)
Soccer Association of Columbia (Ellicott City, Md.)

Carolina Market (2 clubs):
Carolina Elite Soccer Academy (Greenville, S.C.)
North Carolina Alliance (Hillsborough, N.C.)

Florida Market (3 clubs):
Boca United Football Club (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Jacksonville FC (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Tampa Bay United (Tampa, Fla.)

Some notable alumni have come up through the ranks among the 22 new clubs taking part in the 2013-14 U-13/14 Academy season:

• U.S. Men’s National Team and Sporting Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber, a member of the 2010 FIFA World Cup team, hails from Beachside of Connecticut Soccer Club.
• U.S. MNT and San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski, who tied an MLS single-season scoring record with 27 goals in 2012, is a former player with Diablo Futbol Club.
• U.S. Youth National Team standout Joe Gyau, who plays professionally with German club St. Pauli, is a former club player at Bethesda Soccer Club.
• Former Tampa Bay United defender Anthony Wallace has one U.S. MNT cap under his belt and had an extensive run with the U-20 MNT that included several appearances in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.

The Development Academy was founded by U.S. Soccer in 2007 to provide an elite everyday training and competitive environment for the country’s elite youth soccer players. Since its launch, the focus of the program has been to increase the amount of meaningful training sessions for elite players by lengthening the Academy season to 10 months for all clubs, limiting the number of games and working with coaches to appropriately plan Academy teams’ training schedules for one of the longest meaningful training schedules at any level of soccer in the country. The addition of the U-13/14 age group provides the country’s most motivated and talented youth players with two additional years of intensive training to help them reach their full potential and prepare them for collegiate, professional and international soccer.

Ron Benjamin, GIrls Director of Coaching

Placer United Girls Director of Coaching, Ron Benjamin, has been selected to be a staff coach for the second straight year at the ECNL PDP combine in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The staff will be running training sessions, games and identifying the top players from the Mountain-West Region. The clubs participating include: Las Vegas Premier, Heat FC, Sereno Soccer Club, SC del Sol, Utah Avalanche, Colorado Storm, Real Colorado, and Colorado Rush. The event will be held at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

U18G Red, Las Vegas College Showcase Champions

Three Placer United girls teams travelled to Las Vegas this past weekend for the annual college showcase event.  Many of the top teams in the region and the country played in the event.  Over 300 college coaches were represented at the event and scouted a number of Placer United’s games.  The U15 Red, U16 Red and U18 Red all had a fantastic weekend.  The U15’s played in a tournament format and the U16 and U18 teams played a showcase format, each playing four games. All of the Placer United teams were placed/seeded near the top of their respective age groups, showing the strength and respect for our teams.

The U18 Red won the points championship in the Circus Circus division. They opened up with a 2-1 victory over the Camarillo Eagles ECNL.  In Game 2, the girls upended FRAM Ajax, 1-0.  In Game 3, the girls drew 2-2 with Santa Barbara Soccer Club.  Needing a win to solidify the title, the girls beat San Diego Surf Premier 2-0.

The U16 Red came in second place in overall points in the Ceasar’s division. The girls came out flying with a 3-0 win over the top team from Arizona, San Tan Legacy.  In Game 2, the girls notched a monumental victory over West Coast ECNL 1-0.  West Coast is considered one of the top teams in the country.  In Game 3, the girls played a solid match but came up short against the Camarillo Eagles ECNL, 0-2.  In the final game, the girls dominated play against Arsenal ECNL but could not find the back of the net in a 0-0 draw.  The draw solidified second place for the team.

The U15 Red played in the Wynn division. The first game was against the eventual finalist, Surf Hawaii.  The game was back and forth with both teams having scoring chances but the girls fell 1-0.  The girls then drew 1-1 with the top team from Idaho, Courdelane Sting.

In their final group stage match, the girls defeated Laguna Hills Eclipse 1-0.  The team finished the group in second place. In the consloation match, they met up with a very talented Arsenal ECNL team and drew 0-0.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend for the teams and the soccer club.  The overall record for Placer United was 6 wins and 4 draws against only 2 losses. In total, the girls scored 13 goals and only conceded 7 goals in 12 games.   Congratulations to all players and families on a great weekend!

CHARLESTON, S.C. (March 13, 2013) – The 2013 id² National Selection International Tour to Spain from Feb. 28-March 11 brought all the excitement that has come to be expected from US Club Soccer’s annual international trip, including two victories, hard-fought matches against youth academy teams from Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the experience of life abroad and a chance to see some of the sport’s top professionals play during a La Liga match at Barcelona’s famous L’Estadi Camp Nou.

• Video Journal #1: Departure | Player Introductions | vs. AT Chopera Alcobendas 04 Cadete A
• Video Journal #2: vs. Real Madrid Infantil A | vs. FC Barcelona Infantil A
• Video Journal #3: FC Barcelona vs. Deportivo de La Coruña | vs. Girona FC Infantil A | Final Thoughts

As part of the id² Program and with the strong support of Nike, players enjoyed the trip cost-free, coming away with a wealth of experiences both on and off the field that will aid in the development of their young soccer careers. This was the fourth id² National Selection International Tour, with previous journeys to Spain in 2012, England and Scotland in 2011, and Germany and the Netherlands in 2010.

“Overall, the experience was wonderful for the kids, the coaches and all the staff involved,” id² National Selection head coach Gerry McKeown said. “The kids were exceptionally well-behaved off the field, and certainly on the field they had moments of really brilliant play. Of course some mistakes were made under pressure, and I think there’s value in that. That’s why we come, to learn. We watch how the other teams operate, and the higher-level teams really put us under duress at times. These are games we can’t replicate at home, and it’s critical that we’re able to do this in a great environment.”

U.S. Under-14 boys national team coach Hugo Perez accompanied the id² National Selection, and he came away impressed with the level of play and the development opportunities the trip provided.

“I think it’s very important for our players in America to get this type of exposure,” Perez said. “For our kids to play against two of the great clubs in the world I think has been a good experience for them. Watching this week and being here with the group and the players, I think we can compete, and again I’m very excited that US Club Soccer has put this program together.”

The 2013 id² National Selection International Tour got underway on Feb. 28, when the roster of 18 boys born in 1999-2000 met for a two-day training camp outside Miami. With players coming from 17 clubs and 10 states, it was a crucial opportunity to build familiarity and work on tactics.

Upon arriving in Madrid on March 2, the team settled in to enjoy that evening’s clash between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The first test came the following day against AT Chopera Alcobendas 04 Cadete A, and a 4-0 win primed the players for a hot start at Real Madrid on March 5. Nick Taitague and Sam Vines scored in the first nine minutes to take an early lead, but Real Madrid pulled one back before gaining control with three more goals in the second half that handed the id² National Selection a 4-2 loss at Ciudad Real Madrid.

That marked the end of the first leg of the trip, as the players traveled to Barcelona next. On March 7, they arrived at FC Barcelona’s official training ground, Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, to take on the Infantil A squad. With the Catalan club’s first team practicing on an adjacent field, both sides ran 4-3-3 formations and played exciting, end-to-end styles. Edwin Lara ripped a left-footed strike in the 52nd minute to set up a tense finish, but the id² National Selection wasn’t able to replicate last year’s 3-1 victory over Barcelona, as it came up just short in a 2-1 loss.

That was far from the end of the action. March 9 brought a chance to watch FC Barcelona’s home victory over Deportivo de La Coruña — including a goal by Lionel Messi — from field-level seats, and the team capped its game schedule on Sunday with a 6-1 win over Girona FC Infantil A before attending the club’s first-team match that evening. The trip concluded Monday, when the players boarded a plane back to Miami and caught connecting flights home.

The id² Program is an Olympic Development Program as approved by the United States Olympic Committee and U.S. Soccer Federation, and aided by their time in the id² Program, numerous alums have advanced into U.S. Soccer’s National Team programs. The 2013 id² National Selection International Tour was coordinated in conjunction with Premier International Tours.

Highlights are available via US Club Soccer’s website and social media channels, including the video journals on YouTube, photo gallery on Facebook and other updates through Twitter (using the hashtag #id2) and KYCK.