In a game nationally-televised on ESPNU, the FC Westchester U18 team beat CASL of North Carolina.  FC Westchester outlasted CASL in penalty kicks, 5-4, after playing to a 1-1 draw in the Under-18 placement match.

Shawn Guderian struck first for CASL in the 56th minute before Jonathan Dos Reis equalized six minutes later for FC Westchester.  During the National Finals Week at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, the FC Westchester squad tied their first game 1-1 vs. Colorado Rush, lost of eventual U18 champion Baltimore Bays 3-0, lost to the Chicago Fire 2-0 and then won the CASL game.

While excitement was at full tilt during the 32 U16 and U18 games at the National Finals, the more than 350 players, coaches and referees involved were also exposed to a number of experiences at the event in a continuing effort to provide the best possible environment to develop and commit them to a higher standard, according to U.S. Soccer.

During the week, players and coaches heard from U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley and midfielder Landon Donovan to gain a better understanding of the top level of the sport and the national team environment, learned about health strategies to improve hydration and nutrition, had in-depth sessions with ProZone to objectively evaluate their performances through video and statistical analysis and received individual team media training sessions.

“The entire week here at The Home Depot Center was a remarkable success,” said U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy Technical Director John Hackworth. “We couldn’t have asked for better competition on the field, including two fantastic championship matches on Friday and Saturday, but along with the games there was a substantial number of experiences off the field that we believe were extremely beneficial to coaches, players and referees.

“From the beginning of the Development Academy, our goal was to do everything possible to provide players, coaches and referees with an environment to help them develop and we definitely accomplished that during our inaugural season. The next step will be to continue to improve our system and provide experiences that will allow everyone involved to get better on and off the field.”

The Development Academy is also designed to provide a closer connection to the U.S. national team programs, with the specific goal of identifying talent to bring into the national player pools. In the first year alone, 98 players from Development Academy teams were identified by U.S. Soccer scouts and brought into participate in camps and games at the U-17, U-18, and U-20 Men’s National Teams.

In terms of the competition, coaches and players across the board cited the quality of opponents and meaningful matches as one of the most important aspects of the new program.

Connecting to the full Men’s National Team
Before the opening eight games were played during the first two days of the Finals, all 16 teams took part in an orientation on Friday night that included an appearance by Donovan. The all-time leading scorer for the U.S. Men talked to the Development Academy players for an hour about a wide range of topics, including the process of becoming a professional player, how to consider options about your career, and some of the successes and failures in his personal journey.

Bradley and Hackworth also spoke to Academy players about what it takes to succeed at the professional and international level. During the hour discussion, Bradley engaged the players by asking them to think about their strengths and weaknesses, and to find role models amongst the top professionals in the world.

Media Training
With numerous media outlets covering Finals Week and ESPNU conducting live interviews after matches, the U.S. Soccer Communications staff conducted media training sessions during the first two days of Finals Week to help prepare players for the increased exposure. Providing positive and negative real-life situations that have occurred with players from the Men’s and Women’s National Teams, the staff members explained the best ways to handle a myriad of different situations and conduct themselves in the most professional manner.  

College Experience
With the majority of U-17/18 players preparing to take the next step towards the college level, Wake Forest head coach Jay Vidovich talked to all 160 players about the recruiting process for universities, how to position themselves in order to get recognized and what to expect in the fall when they enter their college season.  

Player Scouting
Development Academy Director of Scouting Dave Sarachan and numerous other National Team scouts were on hand during the week to serve as a liaison between the National Team program and the Academy clubs. Individual scouts worked with specific teams, speaking with coaches before and after games, and during training session, to create a instant connection to provide feedback directly on the field. The connection also allowed the scouts to focus on development over winning and continue to locate possible players for the Youth National Teams.

Referee Development
Continuing to train elite referees was a key component to at Finals Week. Paul Tamberino (Director of Referee Development), Brian Hall (Manager of Assessment and Training) and Alfred Kleinaitis (Manager of Referee Training and Development), along with U.S. Soccer’s Full-Time referee Terry Vaughn, were on site working with top young referees. Considered some of the best young referees in the United States, the referees at Finals Week were hand-picked to gain valuable experience while overseeing competitive games in a tournament setting. During the week, each referee worked directly with a member of the U.S. Soccer Referee Department for critical analysis and evaluation to help them develop and improve their future performances.

ProZone Analysis
ProZone continued to be a vital video analysis tool for the coaching staffs of each Development Academy club during Finals Week. During the inaugural season, ProZone provided individual sessions to clubs to help them analyze individual player and team performances and at the Finals teams were able to learn new ways to critically and objectively evaluate their performances in order to improve.

Hydration and Nutrition
Gatorade was once again an essential partner, providing an unlimited amount of Gatorade bottles to teams and educational programs about hydration to allow Academy players to perform at their optimum level. Working with the Men’s National Team nutritionists, the players were also provided with information on the correct diet for pre and post-match.

Nike PreCool Vests
At halftime of Finals Week matches teams got the opportunity to experience one of Nike’s latest innovations, the Nike PreCool Vest. Designed to keep athletes cool specifically for the Beijing Olympics, the vest has multiple triangular cavities filled with frozen water inside. Acting as a thermos, the vest prevents the cold from escaping and keeps the body cool while lowering the core body temperature of the athlete.

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