Thursday, January 27th, 2019 -- Nine Arizona players have been named to the U.S. Soccer Youth National Teams Under-14 Talent Identification West Regional Mini-Camp. 

 

 

It's the first of three YNT U-14 TID Regional Mini-Camps and it will run from January 17-21 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. This Mini-Camp marks the beginning of U.S. Soccer's new YNT U-14 TID Program.

 

The nine Arizona players are: Osvaldo Rodriguez (Real Salt Lake AZ), Haroun Conteh (Phoenix Rising), Alexander Lopez (Phoenix Rising), Angel Robles (Real Salt Lake AZ), Jarrod Smith (Arsenal Arizona), Julio Benitez (Real Salt Lake AZ), Yahir Gonzalez (Real Salt Lake AZ), Luke Burns (Phoenix Rising), Dominic Kallay (Real Salt Lake AZ).

 

During the camp, 80 players from four defined scouting areas (LA, North Cal, Northwest and Southwest) that make up the West Region will make up 20-person teams. U.S. Soccer staff, including YNT head coach Clint Peay, Director of TID Tony Lepore and the three boys’ TID Managers, Henry Brauner, Garrett Biller and Cris da Silva, will run the camp, while the four teams will be coached by YNT Network Scouts and Development Academy coaches from the four respective scouting areas. After a day of training, the four teams will play each other in round-robin competition.

 

Northwest Select vs. North Cal Select – 10:00 a.m.

LA Select vs. Southwest Select – 11:30 a.m.

 

Northwest Select vs. LA Select – 10:00 a.m.

North Cal Select vs. Southwest Select – 11:30 a.m.

 

Northwest Select vs. Southwest Select – 9:45 a.m.

North Cal Select vs. LA Select – 10:45 a.m.

 

In addition to the on-field competition, the mini-camp will also focus on off-field education. Players will be introduced to YNT principles of play, position profiles and goal-setting to help them take responsibility for their development. To help inspire the 80 young players, they will visit the Men’s National Team’s January training camp in Chula Vista, Calif. where they will attend the MNT’s training session on Sunday, Jan. 20 and have lunch side-by-side with their role models on the senior team.

 

The mini-camp will also expose the 80 players to U.S. Soccer’s High Performance department. A sport scientist will be on-hand throughout the event, taking Peak Height Velocity (PHV) measurements to help educate players and coaches about the impact of growth and maturation on development. The sport scientist will also educate players about best practices for nutrition and recovery.

 

The majority of the players called into the West mini-camp were identified at last fall’s Development Academy West Regional Showcase and were further evaluated at a YNT Identification Center as part of the scouting process prior to being selected for this camp.

 

Southwest Select Roster by Position (Club)

GOALKEEPERS (2): Ramses Martinez (San Diego Surf), Osvaldo Rodriguez (Real Salt Lake AZ)

DEFENDERDS (7): Haroun Conteh (Phoenix Rising), Alex Lopez (San Diego Surf), Alexander Lopez (Phoenix Rising), Bryan Moreno (LAFC), Angel Robles (Real Salt Lake AZ), Jarrod Smith (Arsenal Arizona), Ethan Zamora (San Diego Surf)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Julio Benitez (Real Salt Lake AZ), Isaac Calderon (Las Vegas Soccer Academy), Massimo Erfani (San Diego Surf), Xavi Gnaulati (San Diego Surf), Yahir Gonzalez (Real Salt Lake AZ), Diego Lopez ((San Diego Surf), Brooklyn Raines (Barca Academy)

FORWARDS (4): Luke Burns (Phoenix Rising), Dominic Kallay (Real Salt Lake AZ), Miles Mukherjea-Gehrig (San Diego Surf), Terron Williams (San Diego Surf)

Coaches: Mike Kraus (Real Salt Lake), Miroslav Pejkic (YNT Network Scout- Southern Calif.)