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FC America Soccer Academy
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March
2007
- Vol 1, Issue 6
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To All FC America Players, Parents, Team Managers, Coaches and
Visitors.
It is that time of year for Region Cup and State Cup tournaments.
I know most of our teams have been preparing or have started
preparing for these competitions.
Your practice time and intensity, with the team and on your own,
is very important to your success in these tournaments. Prepare
yourself both physically and mentally and you will be successful.
Good luck to all teams participating!
Congratulations to all of the Omni Boys and Kumba Girls who have
signed National Letters of Intent to play Collegiate Soccer.
Please check the FC America website news for further announcements
about this.
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TThe
FC America website continues to be updated. Please visit often
for news, notices and team updates.
Team Managers/Coaches: please continue to send your team
information/tournament results to the webmaster to update your
team pages on the website.
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The Orlando area is experiencing a shortage of referee's. We encourage
parents, players and any others you know who are interested to please
contact Chip Lumpkins at chiplumpkins@msn.com. There is a referee
course being offered soon, so please contact Chip ASAP.
Thank You!! |
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Disney Showcase |
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Recruiting philosophy varies at Disney Showcase
Maria Burns
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Notre Dame men's soccer coach Bobby Clark
stood among dozens of his peers on the edge of the field Friday
watching some of the nation's best high school players face off at the
Disney Soccer Showcase.
"Well, just getting out of Indiana at this time of year is fantastic,"
Clark said of the event, laughing. "But, seriously, the facilities
here are great. Then you've got all the best teams in the country. You
throw in the regional teams and the national teams, and this is
possibly the premiere event in the country."
Tony Quinn/WireImage Sasho Cirovski generally looks for specific
position players. That's why over 800 collegiate coaches -- from the
top Division I programs down through Division III and NAIA schools --
were on hand for the showcase, held at Disney's Wide World of Sports
Complex, which ran through Tuesday.
The event brings together 416 teams, boys and girls, and highlights
the top talent in the nation, making it a recruiter's dream.
"This is one of the most comprehensive tournaments that's out there,"
Duke assistant coach Justin Serpone said. "For us, it's a good way to
get a second look at some guys we've seen before and also for the
following year to get a good look at the best players in the next
class."
However, with 365 games being played just during the boys portion of
the event, coaches still have their work cut out for them.
"You get the bang for your buck," Indiana coach Mike Freitag said.
"You come down here and you're going to see a lot of kids, a lot of
games. Yesterday, I was here from 8:15 [a.m.] to 10:30 at night. It
all becomes a blur after awhile, but it's good to get out here and see
these kids."
What coaches are looking for isn't as cut and dry as talent --
although that's a primary factor. The top players in the nation aren't
hard to find, having received numerous accolades, be it all-state or
all-American honors. The key thing coaches are looking for are players
who will fit into their individual programs.
Each coach appears to be looking for similar but slightly different
things. Goalkeepers can be invaluable, and goal scorers are, as
Freitag said, "worth their weight in gold," but each school has its
own specifics.
"I look for effective players," Freitag said. "I know sometimes
[coaches will] come out saying, 'I'm looking for a forward or a
midfielder.' I'm looking for player who catches my eye and one I think
is a good soccer player who can help my team."
Maryland's Sasho Cirovski was one coach looking for specific position
players.
"Usually, you try to find players that can fit holes," he said.
"You're always looking for the best players because you can always
move some other players around, but a lot of times, you're trying to
find the piece that fits your puzzle."
Other programs, such as Duke, seem to fall in the middle when it comes
to what they are looking for. "You're looking obviously for talented
kids, but then also kids that fit into your particular program,"
Serpone said. "Whatever that is that you might be looking for, it
could be personality, you just want to find the best fit for your
particular program."
The idea of wading through the thousands of players participating in
the tournament could be overwhelming, but most coaches come into the
event with specific players in mind -- ranging from players that have
already committed to their programs, to players coaches are interested
in recruiting, to players interested in being recruited.
"Usually, when you come to these things you get tons and tons of kids
that are letting you know that they're coming here," West Virginia
coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "Of course, we all have our short lists of
kids we've been tracking for a number of years, and then you get to
see them in a competitive environment. The list dwindles down after a
tournament like this."
There's always the possibility of finding someone new, which every
coach does each year at the event.
The main focus at the Disney Showcase is on the U- 16 players, the
majority of whom are currently juniors. Most seniors have already
verbally committed to a program, with national signing day for soccer
coming up on Feb. 7.
"It's sort of an inexact science, so you're just watching as much as
you can," Serpone said. "With the [U-16 players], it's fun because you
get to see kids for the first time and you get excited about kids for
the first time with that sort of new batch."
While the focus is on the graduating class of 2008, there is still
reason for senior players to perform well.
"We just had a couple kids [junior midfielder Maurice Edu and
sophomore goalkeeper Chris Seitz] decide to go pro early," Cirovski
said, "So we're always looking for some last-minute players as well."
Whatever coaches are looking for, the end of the showcase marks only a
beginning of the recruiting process.
"You've got your list of kids you come to see," Clark said. "Some
improve their stock and some their stock goes down. Then you find some
other players that you've never seen. Then you have to go back, and
it's the follow- up that's really the important thing."
And that gives college coaches plenty of work to do once they return
home.
Maria Burns covers college soccer for ESPNsoccernet. She can be
reached at mariamburns@gmail.com.
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Do not forget to visit FC America's new equipment gear supplier
"United World Soccer". They are located in the Festival Bay Mall
off of International Drive near the Bass Pro Shops. Their
telephone number is 407-352-2020. Any player wearing their FC
America jersey to the store will receive a 10% discount on their
purchase.
 For
tournaments in Florida, a good source for information is the
FYSA website. On the FYSA home page click on tournaments and
it provides information by month. Also, a good source for
National tournaments is the gotsoccer.com website under
tournaments.
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FC America and ACYS have new agreement with the City of
Orlando for Trotters Park.
We are very proud of this facility and we want to make
sure we maintain it properly. In the very near future, an
exterior fence will be installed around the fields. We
hope that this will curtail the walk-up use of the
facility so the fields do not get overused.
There are also on-going discussions of constructing a
building at the soccer fields that will house a concession
stand, restrooms, an office and some storage. The
breezeway between the two building structure will provide
shelter and an area for meetings.
We are very excited about this new facility and we need
your help!!
We are looking for any services that could be provided to
keep the costs of building this facility at a minimum.
Donations of any kind, donated material/supplies or at
costs, donated appliances or at costs etc. will
tremendously help us.
Please contact me. Thank you!!
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We are asking all parents and players to
help refer players in the following age groups. We are currently
looking for additional u9, u10, u11, u12 and u13 boys and u9, u10,
u11, and u12 girls. We will have continual open registration for
these age groups. This is very important as we continue to build
the foundation of the club. Let people know!! Thank you for your
help and support!!!
Sincerely,
Joe Battista
FC America Soccer Academy
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America Soccer Academy | 20 N. Orange Ave. | Orlando | FL | 32801
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