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Tacoma News Tribune 4/18/06

State sends large contingent to soccer program[/size]

JON NAITO; The News Tribune
Published: April 18th, 2006 01:00 AM


Landon Donovan is an alumnus. So is DaMarcus Beasley.

Bobby Convey, Eddie Johnson and Oguchi Onyewu are too.

To the casual sports fan, these names don’t mean much. But to any ardent soccer fan, they’re some of the best and brightest the U.S. national team has to offer.

And all are products of U.S. Soccer’s full-time residency program, which annually identifies the nation’s top teenagers to train at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

The driving purpose is to prepare a pool of players for the World Under-17 Championships held every two years. But it also often is a fast-track for a future spot on the senior national team and professional success.

“In large part, it was started to try and compete with other nations,” said an official with U.S. Soccer, the sport’s national governing body. The official, from the Chicago area, asked to remain anonymous. “A lot of nations, in Europe and South America especially, have successful clubs where the top young players play year-round. We are trying to develop our top young players in a similar fashion and let them play in a competitive environment year-round.”

This spring’s 40-player pool (players are selected on a semester basis) features four players from Washington – Daniel Wenzel from Federal Way, Andres Suazo-Ramirez from Burien, Ellis McLoughlin from Seattle and Brandon Zimmerman from Pasco – who were named to the residency’s spring 2006 roster.

The state has never before sent so many players to the program in one session.

“I can’t ever remember that happening before,” said Kevin Zamira, a coach for Tacoma-based Washington Premier Football Club, Wenzel’s home club. “It’s pretty impressive to see that happen. This really is the best of the best. These players are the elite in the country.”

The program was stated in 1999 with the idea of identifying and developing the nation’s best young players.

With Major League Soccer in its infancy, U.S. Soccer wanted an avenue to give top players high-level competition on a regular basis, building a base so future national teams could compete on a global level.

In Europe and South America, the top pro clubs in each nation identify young players and sign them to contracts to play on reserve or youth teams. The residency program was started as a means to compete with those old-guard systems until MLS teams can develop more youth teams.

“It’s been pretty successful in the small window we’ve had so far,” the U.S. soccer official said. “In 2005, the U-17 team finished fifth at worlds, in 2003 they were fifth and in 1999 they were fourth. I think the results speak for themselves.”

Elsewhere

Elizabeth Betterbed, the Narrows Bridge MVP in girls soccer from Gig Harbor High School, and a 2005 All-Area midfielder selection by The News Tribune, will be enrolling at West Point next fall to play soccer. … Ray Willis, the embattled former girls basketball coach at Chief Sealth, will appeal the Seattle School District’s decision not to renew his contract amid recruiting allegations, the Seattle Times reported. His assistants, Laura Fuller and Amos Walters, have also appealed the decision. No hearing date has been set. … Last week, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association confirmed the sites of the 2006 state volleyball championships – 4A and 3A are in Kennewick, 2A and 1A are in Yakima, 2B is at Eastern Washington University and 1B is at Spokane Falls Community College.