Coach Tab Ramos, who in June guided the USA to a quarterfinal appearance at the 2015 U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, has named the first roster of the new U-20 cycle.

"I got recruited to coach my kid's soccer team. Any advice?"

On Monday, U.S. Soccer announced to two initiatives that will be mandated by August 2017. One was the standardization of small-sided games through age U-12. Fewer players on age appropriate-size fields - that has been the trend in American youth soccer for quite a while now.

U.S. Soccer has mandated a significant alteration in how American soccer will be organized -- changing the birth-year registration from an August-July format to January-December.

Colorado native Chris Martinez, who starred for the A-League's Colorado Foxes and MLS's Colorado Rapids, now serves a Real Colorado director and was named U.S. Development Academy U-15/16 Central Conference Coach of the Year 2015.

I'm not a big fan of trophies. They tend to be gaudy and overpriced. At the same time, I find it amusing when people get all riled up about kids nowadays getting trophies they don't deserve. As if that's really a major problem.

After a seven-year professional playing career, Luchi Gonzalez launched a career in education -- he served as Dean of Students and algebra teacher at Miami's Gulliver Academy -- and youth coaching. A full-time coach at FC Dallas' academy since 2012, the 2001 Hermann Trophy winner at SMU guided FC Dallas to the 2015 U.S. Soccer Development Academy U-15/16 title.

For its first gathering since the draw for the 2015 U-17 World Cup, Coach Richie Williams has named a 20-player squad for the U-17 Vaclav Jezek Youth Tournament in the Czech Republic, where the USA faces Russia (Aug. 18), Slovenia (Aug. 19) and Slovakia (Aug. 21) in group play.

It's that time of year in soccer when youth teams are kicking into a new season. The "preseason" phase of training is one of excitement and anticipation, and well established in sports science as a time of increased risk of injury. The result being that a player's excitement for a new season can quickly turn to disappointment.

For most, it is accepted that injury in sport is a part of the game; a result of bad luck and a risk an athlete knowingly takes on by playing.

Alexis Velela, who signed this week with the NASL's New York Cosmos, is the latest member to go pro from the 20-player U.S. U-17 national team squad that qualified last March for the 2015 U-17 World Cup.

Kim Calkins was appointed Washington Youth Soccer's Technical Director in July. Calkins, who played collegiate ball at the University of Portland and professionally for the Boston Breakers, brings 15 years of youth, high school and collegiate coaching experience to the position.

One goal for the USA at the 2015 U-17 World Cup in Chile (Oct. 17-Nov. 8) will be to win a knockout-stage game for the first time since 1999, when the USA finished fourth at biennial tournament with a team that included Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Bealsey.

It's been nearly two months since the USA's quarterfinal run at the 2015 U-20 World Cup. The performance included wins over Myanmar, New Zealand and Colombia. Coach Tab Ramos' team held eventual champion Serbia to a scoreless tie before getting eliminated in a penalty kick shootout.

The Los Angeles Galaxy is launching high school education program for its Development Academy players.