SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP USSF Academy

This is a very active topic in NC.......seems few are interested in SC. Is Bridge it for SC? Has anyone heard about either CESA or Columbia United applying for next year?

CESA is the logical choice.....but I would think CUFC with its central location and ties to USC might be an interesting choice.

And USSF showed in its Charlotte selections that its not necessarily interested in rewarding for past performance.

Here is an article from Sunday's paper in Charleston http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/sep/30/local_soccer_league_joining_prestigious_17676/.

going to california to play games! does this make sense or is this just another money sucking program that the family budget is funding? at least you can one up the jones on where your kid plays! what's broken with the r3pl that we need another layer of leauge play? is the r3pl not developing top talent any more?

Although I am interested in the funding for such a venture, I am impressed with the caliber of players on the rosters.

The U16 roster is loaded with top players! Wow! This will be interesting to see what develops! Kudos to Bridge for sponsoring this opportunity.

U16 Academy Roster

Matthew Bailey, Summerville; Bobby Belair, Socastee; Nash Brace, Beaufort; Randall Eads, Fort Dorchester; Brandon Ferro, Pinewood Prep; Ryan Green, Hanahan; David Hurtado, Frederica Academy, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Keith Jackson, Wando; Matt Mitchell, St. James; Alex Moore, Fort Dorchester; Malcolm Reed, Pinewood Prep; Trey Riedmayer, Pinewood Prep; Dan Riley, South Aiken; Nico Rittmeyer, Savannah; Sergio Rojas, Hilton Head; Austin Savage, Stratford; Brendan Shumberger, Wando; Gregory Todd, Hanahan; Justin Watson, Socastee; Justin White, Stratford.

U18 Academy Roster

Christian Acevedo, Brunswick, Ga.; Will Bouch, Porter-Gaud; Daniel Bowers, Summerville; Brandon Chambers, West Ashley; Charles Cooper, Wando; York Dilday, Summerville; Chris Dixon, Myrtle Beach; Ray Ferro, Summerville; Michael Flato, Wando; Alex Filo, Pinewood Prep; Rudy Hellberger, Fort Dorchester; Luke Hogan, Wando; Austin Hubbard, Myrtle Beach; Ricardo Hurtado, Frederica Academy, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Brady Johnson, Erskine College; Matt Kennedy, Summerville; Justin Keys, Fort Dorchester; Ronnie Murray, Summerville; Paul O'Dea, Myrtle Beach; Robbie Owens, West Ashley; Hunter Wilson, Bishop England.

What type of ODP experience is represented in these rosters? I am just curious as to what effect the academy program will have on the ODP numbers for those age groups.

The academy doesn't pick the "top dog" of the clubs in the state. They look at the results from the cup and make a determination based on those.

I believe US Soccer is looking beyond the regional premier league for coordinated player development. See US Nats results from WC 2006 & 2007 for some background to the bottom line mentality of US Soccer.

As impressive as these rosters may be, it is by no means the best that SC has to offer. There is none of the talent from Greeville, Rock Hill, Lexington, Columbia represented on these teams. Would the teams be stonger if the USSF had looked at Columbia as the place to put the Academy? At least they would have had a better chance to draw players for the entire state. If the idea is to attract the top players into the Academys, then this does not appear to achieve that goal.

lcd,

I don't have a dog in the fight, and I don't have a favorite among Bridge, Columbia United or CESA (though I will say CESA certainly has the history)......but what you say regarding the center of the state certainly makes sense.

No club other than Bridge applied. I'm not sure what the criteria were for selection. I do find it interesting that the USSF seems to have doubled the pool of players for each "age-group" from what I understood it originally to have been. It went from being U-16 and U-18 to kids born in either 91 or 92 (for U-16),etc.