Tuesday, March 29, 2011

 Results from Columbus


All four Sporting Kansas City Junior clubs traveled to Columbus, OH over the weekend to play in friendlies with other MLS Academy teams. Each team was successful for the most part as this served as a precursor for tournaments and league play in the coming weeks.

The SKC U18s started off on Friday with a 0-1 loss off an unfortunate own goal against the Chicago Fire. They came back over the weekend, drawing Fire 3-3 and beating Columbus Crew 3-2. Goals were scored by Will Witherspoon, Jordan Rideout, Tom Adams and Andrew Mobberly (two).

The U16s faced future SUM Cup opponents and had a little trouble breaking ground. They lost to Toronto 1-4, but were able to pull off two draws in their next two games against Columbus (2-2) and Chicago (0-0). The three goal scorers, Seo-In Kim, Wes White and Derek Schrick, also played in the Sporting KC Reserve match on Monday.

The U15s started off strong with a 4-2 win against the Chicago U14s, but followed it up with a 1-3 loss to the Chicago U15s. They finished up on Sunday with a 1-1 draw against Columbus. Steven Enna was the leading scorer with two.

There seemed to be little competition for the most successful SKC team of the weekend, the U13s. They won 2-0, 2-0 and finished up with a 6-0 beat down on the Columbus Crew Juniors. Dakota Karns and Logan Lucas each found the back of the net more than once.

The U16s and U18s will start the second half of the U.S. Soccer Developmental League campaign this weekend against Saint Mary's Soccer Academy.

Monday, March 28, 2011

 Six Juniors to participate in reserve match

Six Juniors will participate in the Sporting Kansas City reserve match later today (Monday) at 3:30 p.m. CT. It is not open to the public, but it can be streamed online at Sporting85.com. The reserves will compete against the Kansas City Brass, a local USL Premier Development League club who play in the Heartland Division of the Central Conference.
Three U18s (Ray Lee, Michael Oakley, Jordan Rideout) and three U16s (Wes White, Derek Schrick, Seo-In Kim) will get a chance to play alongside Chad Ochocinco and the rest of the SKC reserve squad.

Check back here or at The Sporting Way to see how the Juniors and reserves fared.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

 Juniors travel to Ohio

This weekend all Junior teams will be headed to Columbus, OH to play against other MLS academy clubs. All squads will face Chicago, Toronto and Columbus Juniors. The U16s will be preparing for the SUM Cup as they will see some of the same teams for the tournament in July.

Jon Parry, the Director of Coaching for the Juniors and U16 coach, believes the team is close to ready for the long haul of the season and the Cup. "We're currently in phase two of the preseason and the eighth week of fitness training," Perry added. "And although the SUM Cup is important, our main focus is the season (U.S. Soccer Development Academy)."

Unfortunately for the Juniors, the age group in the SUM Cup is U17, and SKC currently has a U16 and U18 squad. "It's a certain group which makes it tough to balance ages, and the main tournament takes place in July which is usually when the kids are on a break. It's frustrating," Parry said.

While it is frustrating, the Juniors will hope to improve on last year's performance.

As for the rest of the age groups, the overall goal will be to have the SUM Cup including a wider range for the tournament instead of just one age group. Nevertheless, the U13s, U15s and U18s will get a chance to play friendlies against top competition this weekend.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 Jordan Rideout trains with Southampton

Like father, like son. Paul Rideout, the former Southampton starter, returned to the Staplewood Training Ground this past week with his family, more than 20 years after playing there professionally. The reason? His son, Jordan Rideout, a current Sporting Kansas City U18 Junior, was training with the Southampton Academy squad for three days.

It was quite the opportunity for the younger Rideout, while also getting feedback from the coaches after his time on the pitch. Jordan noted, "It went well, it's a lot faster and a very different style of play over there, so that was fun to participate in. I also got a chance to watch the first team train which was a good experience."

In addition to his Southampton trip, Jordan also trained with the SKC reserves over the weekend. He went on, "It's always good to play in an environment with faster and more skilled players. It makes me pick up my game."

The U18s will play in a few friendlies this weekend in Ohio against other MLS Academy sides. Rideout is looking forward to the matches, but also to the spring campaign of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy League which starts in a couple of weeks.

He has a positive outlook toward the season, "We lost a couple of players, but some also moved in from the younger squad. I think we're stronger and bigger than we have been and now we're starting to gel and are hoping to make it into the playoffs."

Stay tuned for a preview of the U-17 SUM Cup later this week.

Monday, March 21, 2011

 U13s enjoy successful weekend

While the Senior team was away at Chivas, the U13 Juniors hosted a series of friendlies at Swope Park over the weekend. It was mostly a successful weekend for the club as they faced off with three different Minnesota Thunder teams, who are considered to be some of the best in the region.

On Saturday, the U13s played the U13 Pre-Academy first and second teams of the Thunder. They beat the first team 5-0 and the second team 8-0. There didn't seem to be any holes in the Juniors game from offense to defense. Three of the goals were scored off of headers from crosses which is always a good sign of how a team is playing.

The final game of the weekend came on the morning after the Senior team played, so the boys were a little sluggish after staying up late to watch the game. They went up 1-0 early, but couldn't hold the lead and eventually lost to the Thunder's U14 Pre-Academy team, 1-3.

With these three games, the team got a nice warm-up before the SUM Cup this weekend in Columbus, Ohio.

Friday, March 18, 2011

 U13s hosting friendlies at Swope

The U13 Juniors will host a slew of friendlies this weekend at the Swope Park Training Facility with Minnesota Thunder and SLSG Metro. Each team will play two games on Saturday (starting at 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.) and one on Sunday (starting at 8:00 a.m).

The Sporting Kansas City Juniors will face Thunder U13 A, Thunder U13 B and Thunder U14. Feel free to get outside, enjoy the weather and watch some soccer before the varsity team plays Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. CT.

This will serve as a tuneup before the Juniors head to Columbus next weekend for the SUM cup.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

 U15 Results from Dallas

This past weekend, the U15 Junior team traveled to Texas to play in the Dallas College Showcase.

The first game didn't end so great with the team losing 0-2 to FC Dallas and defender Erik Palmer-Brown went down with a broken wrist. Their next game against ASG 96 Boys Gold Central was just the opposite. The U15s won 9-0 in a game where everyone seemed to have the golden boot. Goals were scored by Pierluigi Cassiraghi (3), Jojo Piatzcyk (2), Dante Guerrero (2), Jake Wood (1) and Mason Leonard (1).

In the final game of the weekend against the Dallas Texans, the Juniors had their best performance tactically. Unfortunately, they finished on the losing end after an unfortunate goal late in the game for the Texans. Jake Wood scored for the second straight game.

All of the Junior clubs will be in Columbus, Ohio to compete in the SUM Cup at the end of the month.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

 Juniors host Pre-Academy Camp



Starting on Monday and finishing on Wednesday, the Sporting Kansas City Junior club held a Pre-Academy camp for boys aged 9-16. The camp was led by all the Junior coaches along with a few of the players who helped out with drills. It was held at the Swope Park Training Center.

With over 150 campers, the camp was sold-out and had many pining for a chance to get invited back to a training session with the SKC Junior club of their age.

Two 13-year-old campers, Jacob Shireman and Zach Pinrod both enjoyed the environment and the opportunity to be able to play at a higher level of soccer. Having coaches like Paul Rideout and Boris Prado lead a camp, isn't something players come across often.

The Juniors will travel to Ohio to compete in the SUM Cup at the end of the month.

Friday, March 11, 2011

 U15s travel to Dallas

The U15 Juniors will compete in the FC Dallas College Showcase this weekend. It takes place at Pizza Hut Park and will provide an opportunity for the players to showcase their talents to coaches from NCAA programs and Junior Colleges. The coaches will also be supplied with a player resume book that includes player's academic and athletic ability.

The SKC Juniors travel on Friday and play in three games over the weekend, starting on Saturday. They will play against other junior clubs from FC Dallas, ASG Dallas Futbol and the Dallas Texans.

Check back next week for results on how the team did.

 U16s make the Top 100

The 2013 Boys National Top 100 Players to Watch on Top Drawer Soccer has been released. Four players from the Sporting Kansas City U16 Juniors made the list. They are Seo-In Kim (#66), David Leichty (#73), Ryan Hill (#82) and Clay Stewart (#85).

With theses Juniors being recognized nationally, this is good news for the senior club in their goal of trying to sign more homegrown players to join Jon Kempin and Kevin Ellis on the first team.

Next week, the Juniors will host the sold-out Pre-Academy Camp being held at the Swope Park Training Center for boys ages 9-16. Players from the current Juniors teams along with other players looking to join the fold will be on the fields Monday through Wednesday.

Friday, March 4, 2011

 Raymond Lee signs to SLU

Add another one to the list. Sporting Kansas City Junior, Raymond Lee, signed with Saint Louis University this past week.

Lee, who attended Park Hill High School, won the 2010 Class 3 Offensive Player of the Year in Missouri as a midfielder. He led the team to the State Quarterfinals.

He will go to a St. Louis soccer team that has won more college soccer championships than any other school in Division 1. Former Sporting player, Jack Jewsbury also attended SLU and was inducted into their Hall of Fame last month.

Before Lee travels out east, he will play with the U18 Juniors squad. The team's next games will be at the end of the month in the SUM Cup.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

 U13s and U15s in St. Louis

Over the past weekend in St. Louis, the U13 and U15 Sporting Kansas Juniors teams competed against some of the top clubs in the nation.

The U13s had a successful run against three of Chicago Magic's Pre-Academy clubs. They finished with two wins and one draw against two U13 teams and one U14 side. The boys got off to a quick start in the first game when Trevor Cissell put one past the keeper just two minutes into the game. They went on to draw with the PA1 U13s when the opposition scored with the clock winding down in the first half.

In the U13s other two matches, the Juniors outscored Chicago by a combined 5-1 (2-1, 3-0). Dakota Karns, John Leisman and Logan Lucas all helped with the goals. Lucas put a stamp on the weekend by scoring the team's final four goals.

The U15s had a rough time against last year's National Champions, but were also battling absences as seven players on the primary roster were unable to make the trip. Jojo Piatczyc was the lone goal scorer for the Sporting U15s.

These games served as a tune-up for when all four Sporting Kansas City Juniors clubs head to Columbus at the end of the month for the 2011 SUM Cup.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

 Results from Dallas


The Sporting Kansas City U16 and U18 Juniors teams traveled to Frisco, Texas over the weekend to play a few friendlies against youth squads from nearby MLS and Mexicans clubs.

The U16s got off to a hot start on Saturday, winning 3-1 against Tigres. Goals were scored by Wes White, Luke Blackwell and Tarlue Doe. Things weren't as easy for them the next day as they fell to the only team with two wins on the weekend, Santos, 0-2.

For the U18s, they found themselves in a goal fest against Monterrey on the first day, as they drew 3-3. Jordan Rideout, Will Witherspoon and Michael Oakley were the goal scorers. The three of them have already signed letters to play in college.

On Sunday, the U18s game against the Houston Dynamo was a little more defensive. It resulted in another draw, 1-1, with Sporting's goal being scored by the captain and central defender, Oakley, for his second of the weekend.

The Juniors next matches will come at the end of the month when they go to Columbus, OH to compete in the SUM Cup.