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THREE KENDALL SC MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN U18 MNT MEGA-CAMP
Andrew Quintana, Cristian Ramos and David Sarabia in Bradenton for One-Week Training
CHICAGO (January 15, 2008) – U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team head coach Bob Jenkins announced his list of 72 players invited in for the mega-camp from January 17-24 at the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla. All of the players were born on or after Jan. 1, 1990. Among the selections are three members of the Miami FC Kendall U16 USSF Development Academy team: Andrew Quintana, Cristian Ramos, and David Sarabia.
Jenkins and 10 assistant coaches will instruct and evaluate the players during the week-long camp and evaluate them for the next cycle of Under-20s.
Players on this roster will be the core age-group for the 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt with Under-20 head coach Thomas Rongen. Rongen will take as many as five players from the mega-camp with the Under-20 squad that will travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, for the Copa Chivas tournament from Jan. 24-Feb. 3.
“If you look at our player pool from our last U-18 group, it was about 70 players, so what we’re trying to do this year is get an early look at a large portion of our player pool,” said Jenkins. “The best environment to evaluate players is when the best players are with the best players. This camp will give us a good handle on which players we will continue to have in later camps.”
Along with training during the week, the U-18s will play a handful of scrimmages against each other and possibly the U-17 MNT, U-20 MNT or club teams in the area.
The ultimate goal of the U-18 program is to provide these players with the opportunity to continue to grow and improve, so they have the ability to make the jump to the U-20s, the U-23s and ultimately the full Men’s National Team. During their time with the U-18s, the players are immersed in top-level training and games against some of the best club and national teams around the world to help them reach those goals.
Out of the 72 players invited into the camp, 43 are from clubs that are a part of U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy Program. A total of 20 Development Academy teams are represented.
“Continuing player development is still the most important aspect at this level,” said Jenkins. “I’m sure there are a large number of talented players in this group. I have no doubt over the next few years they will continue to progress through the national team programs.”
With a three-year gap between the U-17 and the U-20 Men’s National Team, the U-18 MNT aids in the transition for younger players born in the odd-numbered years. The players on the U-18s are predominantly those who fall in that age gap where they were too old for the U-17s, but yet still too young to have an immediate impact with the U-20s.
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