By Mike Woitalla The U.S. U-17 boys national team hosted Canada for two friendlies in Fort Lauderdale and won each game, 3-1. Ayo Akinola, who was born inMichigan and grew up in Ontario, Canada, scored twice in the second U.S. victory. Akinola moved to U.S. Soccer’s U-17 Residency program in Bradenton, Florida, after playing in […]
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Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
What makes a player push through adversity?
By Chris Apple He was this player of mine who wasn’t particularly talented. In fact, he barely made the team his freshman year. He played a total of 21 minutes that season. Whenmost of the squad got varsity letters, he got a certificate of participation. In his sophomore year, he got playing time in nine […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Road-trip games for a fun journey
By Susan Boyd Whether your child plays select or recreation soccer, chances are good that in the next six months you’ll travel at least 300 miles to a tournament. It’snot only becoming more and more acceptable for any team to travel, but it has also become expected. Even though a decade of these trips set […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Benefits of heading ban are clear to see
By Mike Woitalla I have now refereed and watched several games since the elimination of heading for children 10 and under – and have compared them to my notes and memoriesof games at the same level when heading was still allowed. First of all, on the girls’ side, I noticed very little difference. At least […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Friedel names U.S. U-19 roster for Slovakia Cup
U.S. U-19 men’s national team coach Brad Friedel has named a 20-player roster for the 2016 Slovakia Cup, where the USA will face Ukraine, Georgia and Slovakia in Group Bat the April 20-29 tournament. Group A is comprised of Russia, Czech Republic, Norway and Macedonia. The group winners will meet in the final. All but […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Historic game against Iran awaits U.S. U-16 girls
By Mike Woitalla @MikeWoitalla The U.S. U-16 girls national team, at the 1st International Women’s Tournamentof Gradisca in Italy April 19-29, will play Iran, marking the first U.S. women’s national team game at any age level against a Middle East nation. The USA will compete against olderteams of players born in 1999, the age cut-off […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Reporter
U.S. U-16 girls head to tourney in Italy
The U.S. U-16 girls national team, coached by Tricia Taliaferro, will compete at the 1st International Women’s Tournament of Gradisca in Italy April 19-29. Taliaferro has named a20-player roster comprised of 17 players born in 2000, two in 2001 and one in 2002. The USA will compete against older teams of players born in 1999, […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Reporter
ECNL adds five clubs
The Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), the girls league currently comprised of 79 clubs, has added five new clubs for the 2016-17 season: Boston Breakers Academy, Seattle Reign Academy, Tampa BayUnited, Western New York Flash Academy and Florida’s Weston FC. The Breakers, Seattle Reign and Western New York are affiliated with pro NWSL clubs. “We […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Is FIFA protecting or impeding Mexican-American players?
By Mike Woitalla Mexican clubs heavily scouting the USA for Mexican-American talent has been one of the greatest developments in U.S. soccer history. For one, it putto rest any claims that the U.S. player identification system wasn’t neglecting Latino talent. We would never have heard of New Mexico’s Edgar Castillo or TexanJose Francisco Torres if […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Galaxy kid scores four and assists twice for U.S. U-15s on Argentina trip
By Mike Woitalla Efrain Alvarez, who turns 14 in June, opened the scoring in the U.S. U-15 national team’s 2-0 win over Uruguay after his hat trick and twoassists in a 5-1 win over Argentine club Club Atletico Talleres during the team’s Argentina training camp. Giovanni Reyna, son of U.S. Hall of Famer Claudio Reyna, […]