USL News Release - USL Men’s Player Showcase >>
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
TAMPA – United Soccer Leagues announced Tuesday that the second annual USL Men’s Player Showcase presented by Umbro will be hosted by the Charleston Battery of the USL First Division at the renowned Blackbaud Stadium December 16-18 in Charleston, South Carolina. The 2006 event drew in more than 600 applicants from the top collegiate talent in USL’s Premier Development League while catching the eye of English clubs Chelsea, Fulham and Crystal Palace.
“We are thrilled to have the Battery as hosts of this event,” said USL Executive Vice President and COO Tim Holt. “The Battery are an outstanding USL First Division club on and off the field with world class facilities and tremendous experience in playing host to these kinds of showcases. We are grateful to our partners at Umbro and all of the USL clubs that helped make the inaugural edition a success.”
The 2007 version of USL Men’s Player Showcase presented by Umbro is open to a maximum of 90 athletes. Players interested in participating are urged to complete their applications as soon as possible. Application
“As an Umbro club, we are extremely proud to host an event like the USL Men’s Player Showcase presented by Umbro," said Battery Director of Soccer and Stadium Operations Andrew Bell. “We were very impressed with last year’s event in Tampa and look forward to hosting these talented young men this fall.”
“Umbro is proud to continue its support of this marquee opportunity for North American players through USL and happy to see it hosted at such a fine venue by such an excellent club as the Charleston Battery,” said Martin Prothero, Senior Vice President of Marketing and International for Umbro International Ltd.
“Last season’s event garnered a lot of international attention,” United Soccer Leagues President Francisco Marcos. “Recent developments on that level, such as the agreement with West Ham United and the introduction of Crystal Palace Baltimore into the USL system, carry the expectations that this year’s showcase will surpass the international interest from last season.”
“The club systems of Europe are in place to be certain they have squeezed the absolute best players out of the raw talent pool. With the lack of correlation between the youth and professional levels in North America, it is important to have events like these which fill the void in player identification.”
The 2007 USL Men’s Player Showcase presented by Umbro will primarily feature players competing in the USL Premier Development League (PDL). As the top amateur league in North America, the Premier Development League is committed to providing its players with every opportunity to excel at the professional level. The showcase will be made up of players with PDL playing history as well as a limited number of top amateur players based on their own individual achievements or merits.
The USL Men’s Player Showcase presented by Umbro is open to all interested players under process of application. Applications must be submitted with a written player biography which will be examined by the USL showcase selection committee before any players are accepted. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until spots are filled.
All players and coaches involved with the showcase will be staying on Daniel Island near the stadium at the Official Host Hotel: Hampton Inn Charleston – Daniel Island.
The 2006 edition, also attended by 24 U.S. and Canadian based clubs and AFK (First Division, Norway), was a resounding success with numerous players landing professional contracts in Major League Soccer, the USL First Division and the USL Second Division. Last season’s showcase was the largest and most technically complete scouting combine in the U.S. and Canada. It provided an affordable platform for 192 elite prospects to display their abilities to a number of top clubs around the globe.
For more information about the 2007 USL Men’s Player Showcase presented by Umbro, please visit the USL Men’s Player Showcase information page at USLsoccer.com.
2006 Men’s Player Showcase presented by UMBRO Participants Examples
Player (Team signed with): Tyler Baldock (Vancouver Whitecaps); Daniel Cepero (New York Red Bulls) ; Hector Zapata (Rochester Rhinos); Brian Levey (Atlanta Silverbacks) ; Sean Crowe (D.C. United); Mateus Anjos (Miami FC); Hunter West (Toronto FC); Ryan Pierce (Harrisburg City Islanders); Ian Bennett (Charleston Battery); Alfred Chambers (Harrisburg City Islanders); PJ Scheufele (Rochester Rhinos); Ryan Wileman (Rochester Rhinos); Sola Abolaji (Vancouver Whitecaps); Demetrius Donald (Carolina RailHawks); Frederico Moojen (Montreal Impact); Mark Totten (Chicago Fire); Claudio Dias (Montreal Impact); Ricky Herron (California Victory); Matt Maher (Carolina RailHawks); Landy Mattison (Wilmington Hammerheads); Daniel Smith (California Victory); Lawrence Olum (Portland Timbers); Guy Kpene (D.C. United)
Quotes from the 2006 Men’s Player Showcase presented by UMBRO
“I got a lot of offers out of playing in this combine,” said two-time PDL scoring champion Freddy Moojen following the 2006 Men’s Player Showcase. “It is the first event like this I have ever been to and after receiving proposals from eight or nine international and domestic clubs it may be the last.”
“Playing in Junior College does not get you a lot of chances to impress some of the coaching staffs you have at this event,” said Ricky Herron. “I had butterflies in my stomach the first few matches but I got over it and played well. For a first-year event this showcase impressed me. I would come back if I had to but hopefully I performed well enough to get picked up.”
“Comparing this event to others I have been to, I would say the level of play was much higher,” said Mateus Anjos. “When you play against guys just as good as you, you raise your own game just to stand out. This combine also had more scouts. That really opened my eyes.”
“USL has done a good job of creating a professional environment here,” said Minnesota Thunder Head Coach Amos Magee following the 2006 Men’s Player Showcase. “Every coach in USL First Division wants to get better, and at this showcase you have guys who made sacrifices just to get here. You know they will work hard to make your organization better, and for that we are prone to liking them already.”
“Being the first year for an event like this, USL did a great job putting everything together,” added Portland Timbers Assistant Coach Gavin Wilkinson. “It is a fantastic event from our perspective. The U.S. is just a huge country. It is impossible to see all the talented players. The fact that we can see a lot of them in one place should raise the standard of USL First Division soccer.”
“There is a lot of collegiate talent outside the NCAA Division I level,” said Chicago Fire Academy Director Roland Hahn. “Not everyone gets seen in America, it is such a big country. There are kids out here from all over and this is their chance to show what they have to offer – a chance they would not otherwise get. The PDL has been a great proving ground for amateur players in North America. I had a pretty good idea coming in that the level of play would be strong.”
“This being the first time USL organized an event like this, I wanted to see first-hand the level of talent,” said D.C. United Head Coach Tom Soehn. “D.C. United has a lot of development positions and little spots we like to fill with up-and-coming American players. The talent level at this event is perfect for guys like that.”
