CHICAGO (April 30, 2009) – Weston Soccer Club will join five other teams as new members of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy for the 2009-10 season.
The Weston, Fla., club joins California Development Academy (Sacramento, Calif.), Houston Dynamo (Houston, Texas), Kansas City Wizards Juniors (Kansas City, Mo.), McLean Youth Soccer (McLean, Va.) and NJSA 04 (Holmdel, N.J.) as new Academy members, bringing the total to 79 clubs that will participate in the national team training program next year.
Weston SC’s Under-15/16 team will be led by Carlos Parra, while Alvin James will head up the Under-17/18 team. With 400 players on 30 teams, Weston SC has developed several athletes who have represented the U.S. at the youth level. Players include Rodrigo Hidalgo and Brian Sylvestre, former members of the U.S. U-17 Residency Program.
The Academy program was created to enhance the player development environment for elite youth players in the United States, according to U.S. Soccer Best Practices, with specific focus on increasing the number of training sessions, decreasing the total number of games while increasing the number of quality games and maintaining the highest level of coaching, refereeing and competition available in an everyday environment.
Launched in the fall of 2007 after a detailed review of player development systems in the U.S. and across the world, the Development Academy provides players, coaches and referees a nationally-coordinated program designed to enhance their development environment. The Academy has improved the training environment, provided relevant, high-level matches on a consistent basis, increased the level and efficiency of scouting for the national teams and provided players, coaches and referees with structured programming. For more information on the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, log on to ussoccer.com.
