Miller an All-American

Congratulations to former Sporting Kansas City Juniors player and current Rockhurst senior captain Kyle Miller, named an NSCAA/Continental Tires NCAA Men's Division II All-American and All-Midwest selection. Miller anchored a Hawks' defense which allowed only seven goals during the 2011 season, fewest in the nation, and helped the team reach the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals this year.

The Overland Park, Kansas native was also named to the Daktronics All-America Second Team and Daktronics All-Region First Team. He also got a mention in the sports section of Saturday's Kansas City Star!

Video: U13s Futsal Action

Video courtesy of Chris Bihuniak

The Sporting Kansas City Juniors have taken their seasons indoors during the winter months in KC and can now be seen playing in Futsal KC, one of more than 40 US Youth Futsal leagues throughout the country.

Sporting Kansas City has played a major role in the growth and progress of the sport and the league in the U.S., as juniors Director of Coaching Jon Parry and Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes are both on the leadership team for US Youth Futsal. Check out the video above of the Sporting KC U-13 Juniors in action this past weekend.

Missouri H.S. Honors Announced

The 2011 Boys All-State and All-Kansas City teams for Missouri high school soccer players were announced and numerous Sporting Kansas City Juniors received marks of respect.

Rockhust senior midfielder Derek Schrick earned several honors, the most prestigious being Missouri State Player of the Year. Schrick was also named First Team All-State, Kansas-City Co-Player of the Year, and first team All-Kansas City. Schrick was a driving force in Rockhurst’s final team ranking in 2011 as No. 4 in the state, with an overall record of 22-4-1.

Jacole Turner was awarded Missouri State Goalkeeper of the Year, Kansas-City Goalkeeper of the Year, First Team All-State and First Team All-Kansas City. Turner led Lee’s Summit North to a 19-4 record earning them the No. 7 spot in the final state rankings for 2011.

Shane Woods, a senior forward at Kearney, also earned First Team All-State honors as well as All-Kansas City Offensive Player of the Year and All-Kansas City First Team honors.

Julian Ramirez rounds out the First Team All-State selections and is the only player from the Sporting Kansas City Juniors U16 squad to earn the impressive tribute. Ramirez, a Blue Springs H.S. defender, also earned First Team All-Kansas City.

Sophomore midfielder Joey Piatczyc was selected as Second Team All-State and All-Kansas City while junior forward Darby Cronin received Honorable Mention All-State and Second Team All-Kansas City.

Cameron Wallace joins Piatczyc and Cronin as Second-Team All-Kansas City and Alec Van Wormer, Erik Palmer-Brown, Jake Wood, Pier Cassiraghi, and David Isaacks obtained Honorable Mention All-Kansas City.

Van Wormer, a sophomore defender, guided Lee’s Summit West to a 24-8 record to garner a No. 5 ranking amongst all teams in the state of Missouri. Meanwhile, Palmer-Brown becomes the lone freshman amid the Sporting Kansas City Juniors to earn the accolade.

VIDEO: Final Day at the DA Winter Showcase

SKC Juniors Conclude Showcase

Sporting Kansas City's U16 and U18 Juniors concluded their six-day trip to Florida with a win and a tie respectively on Tuesday. The Juniors accumulated a combined record of 4-1-1 with the U18's going 3-0 on the week and the U16's finishing with ones across the board.

Both squads faced the Oakwood Soccer Club in the last match of the three-game road voyage. Tuesday's match for the U18's concluded 2-1 in Sporting Kansas City's favor with Eduardo Moreno and Clay Stewart both contributing second-half goals.

The under 16's contest versus Oakwood ended in a 2-2 draw. Seo-in Kim and Julian Ramirez each added tallies for Sporting Kansas City while Thomas Parisis and Timothy Edward Mines notched goals for Oakwood. To view a more detailed account on the Juniors trip to Florida check out Sportingmembership.com.

Here is a direct link to the recap from the DA Winter Showcase Day 3 as well as a photo gallery. Sporting Kansas City Juniors will continue to train outside for the next couple of weeks and prep for futsal during the winter months before resuming play in March.

Beach Cruising

After getting back into KC late last night, and being met by conditions that were considerably harsher than what they enjoyed in Florida this weekend, you can be sure all the Juniors were reminiscing about their time at Siesta Key on Monday.

Here's some video of that excursion:

Parry on staff for GA tour

Sporting Kansas City Juniors Director of Coaching and U16's coach Jon Parry joins fellow Sporting technical staff members John Pascarella, Zoran Savic, and Manager Peter Vermes in an offseason journey to the Netherlands to lead the 2011 Generation adidas tour. The tour gathers players who joined MLS through the Generation adidas program and provides them the unique opportunity to compete against world-renowned academies overseas. Adidas sponsors the tour in an effort to help the continued growth of soccer throughout the United States and Canada.

The collection of Generation adidas players will train at Ajax Academy in Amsterdam and compete in friendlies against reserve teams from Ajax, FC Volendam, and Almere City FC. Parry will be exposed to Ajax Academy sessions as well as be provided with the opportunity to gain insights from the coaching staff of the various Amsterdam clubs. Click here for the GA roster and itinerary.

For regular updates on Parry and the rest of the tour, make sure to follow @adidasITP on Twitter.

Wright & Schrick All-Americas

Two Sporting Kansas City Juniors earned selection to the NSCAA 2011 Boys High School All-America Team for stellar performances with their respective high school sides.

Senior goalkeeper Evan Wright from Stillwell, Kansas earned his spot as an NSCAA All-America after a notable year playing for Blue Valley High School. Wright led Blue Valley to the 2011 Kansas State 5A Championship, clocking 1,855 minutes in 2011.

Wright played a particularly large role in the Kansas 5A quarterfinal match at St. Thomas Aquinas. Wright made a break-away stop on Aquinas senior Mikey Geist in the first 10 seconds of the match. Then in a penalty kick shootout, it was Wright again making two huge stops for the Tigers allowing for their 4-2 victory in penalty kicks.

Derek Schrick, senior midfielder and Kansas City native, guided Rockhurst High School to the District Championship game. Schrick made significant contributions to the success of Rockhurst who finished out their season with a 22-4-1 record. For his efforts, Schrick was named to the NSCAA All-America Team.

In addition to All-America honors, Schrick's performance throughout his senior season landed him NSCAA Boys High School Missouri State Player of the Year.

USSDA Winter Showcase

The Sporting Kansas City Under-16 and Under-18 Juniors are off to a successful start at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase in Sarasota, Florida.

The first matches of the Showcase took place on Saturday, December 3rd. The u18's won 1-0 against D.C. United, while the u16's dropped a 4-0 decision after playing a man down for much of the second half in their battle with the MLS rivals. Check out SportingMembership.com for a full recap and video highlights from Day 1 at the Winter Showcase, as well as a photo album on Facebook.

The second day of the Showcase took place on Sunday, December 4th. Despite the short turnover and heavy legs, both Sporting Kansas City teams recorded victories against strong Baltimore Bays competition. The u18's found the early lead and came away with a 2-1 victory. Whereas the u16's earned the win in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory. Click on the link to see more on Day 2 at the Winter Showcase, with a gallery of images available here.

The last two matches of the showcase for Sporting Kansas City will be held on Tuesday with both teams facing Oakwood Soccer Club. Follow @SKCJuniors on Twitter for all the latest from the tournament!