Monday, February 20, 2012

 Champions: Jrs at Futsal Nationals

The Sporting Kansas City Juniors strong showing at the United States Youth Futsal Nationals culminated today with an SKC squad in the championship match of all five age groups that Sporting entered teams into for the tournament. With all the results in from the Overland Park Convention Center today, Sporting Kansas City crowned four new champions!
  • Sporting KC U13 Jrs Croatia were 8-2 winners over 99 SportsTutor Ligers
  • Sporting KC Juniors Italy were 5-4 victors versus Magical Futsal Academy
  • Sporting KC Juniors Portugal triumphed 6-4 against Sporting BVSC U15B
  • U16s Sporting KC Jrs - Uruguay prevailed 5-4 past Sporting BVSC 94/95
Today's lone loss came in a narrow defeat as U16 Sporting KC Jrs fell 7-6 to BNC Revolution A in the Boys U16 Super Group finale. Congrats to all the Sporting KC Juniors on their performances at the US Youth Futsal Nationals and best of luck as they wrap up their seasons this weekend in the Futsal KC league.

 2012 Spring Break Camp

Spots are filling up fast for the 2012 Spring Break Camp, which begins two weeks from today! The three-day camp is open to competitive boys players between the ages of 9 and 16, and will be held at the Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park.

The camp costs $130, which includes an adidas Sporting KC t-shirt and the opportunity to be evaluated by the Sporting Kansas City Juniors coaching staff.
Click here for more information and to register while spots are still available.

Last year, the camp was sold out with over 150 campers!
Click here to see a photo slideshow from the 2011 Pre-Academy Camp.

 Video: Jrs at Youth Futsal Nationals

Here is a recap of each of the Sporting KC teams in the tournament...

  • In the Boys U13/U14 bracket, it was an all-SKC Juniors semifinal as Sporting KC U13 Croatia (3-0-0) advanced past Sporting KC U13 Argentina (1-1-1) with a 6-4 victory on Sunday. The U13's are now facing 99 SportsTutor Ligers at 9am this morning.
  • In the Boys U14 Super Group, Sporting KC Juniors - Italy went a perfect 3-0-0 in pool play and face Magical Futsal Academy in the finals at 9:15am this morning.
  • In the Boys U15 division, Sporting KC Juniors - Portugal went 3-1-0 in pool play and will have a shot at avenging their lone loss in the championship when they play Sporting BVSC U15B at 8:15am this morning.
  • In the Boys U16 Super Group, the U16 Sporting KC Jrs went 3-0-0 in pool play and won 8-6 in the semifinals to advance to the 9am CT final against BNC Revolution A.
  • In the Boys High School Super Group, both U16 Sporting KC Juniors - England and U16 Sporting KC Juniors - Uruguay went 3-0-0 in pool play. Uruguay advanced to the championship match at noon today against Sporting BVSC 94/95.

Friday, February 17, 2012

 Video: Juniors Signing Ceremony

Sporting Kansas City held a special signing ceremony on Wednesday at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park for the SKC Juniors who have signed their National Letters of Intent to play college soccer this fall. Check out the video below to see footage from the event and hear from DOC Jon Parry, as well as future SMU Mustang Derek Schrick.

For more on Wednesday's gathering, check out Thad Bell's article on Examiner.com -- the first of several more on the Sporting KC Juniors youth development academy.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

 Video: KSHB covers futsal

As we mentioned yesterday, several Sporting Kansas City Juniors teams will be competing in the US Futsal Nationals this weekend. Well today, NBC Action News caught up with Sporting Kansas City Juniors Director of Coaching and US Youth Futsal Executive Director Jon Parry to talk about the tournament while the playing surface was being installed at the Overland Park Convention Center.

Watch below for the report from Jack Harry during the 6pm newscast...

 Video: Two new Juniors

Wichita's CBS affiliate KWCH picked up the story on two of the newest members of the Sporting Kansas City Under-18 Juniors, Dodge City's Armando Hipolito and Jovanny Bonilla. Armando is a member of the Region II 94 ODP team, while Jovanny was named to the SWKSCA 6A All-Regional Team. Check out the news feature below...

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

 US Futsal Nationals in OP

The 2012 United States Futsal Nationals will be held this weekend - Feb. 17 thru 20 - in the Overland Park Convention Center for boys and girls teams from across the country in the U8-U19 age groups. Among the 100+ teams registered to participate, the Sporting Kansas City Juniors will have a large presence:
"To have all 1100 players along with coaches and families in one space will create an atmosphere that is nothing short of electrifying," said John Sciore, director of development for US Youth Futsal, in this Examiner.com preview.

Admission is open to the public with weekend passes available for $8 or Saturday/Sunday passes sold for $5. Mondays finals will be free of charge! Follow @usyouthfutsal on Twitter for updates and news throughout the tournament.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

 Podcast with Jon Parry

Sporting Kansas City Juniors DOC Jon Parry sat down this week with Andy Edwards, host of the Talkin' Touches podcast, to discuss the club's approach to the academy and the Juniors recent affiliation with TSC Hurricane in Tulsa, Okla.

Click here to listen to the interview and hear what Parry has to say about a wide-range of topics related to the Sporting Kansas City Juniors.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

 Q&A with Eric DeJulio

Blue Valley Northwest's Eric DeJulio, a defender and captain on the Sporting Kansas City Under-18 Juniors this season in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, has logged a LOT of minutes for the Juniors each of the last three seasons. After leading all players on the U16 Juniors in 2009-2010 with 29 games started, he then started every match for the squad in 2010-2011.
Now off to a strong start in 2011-2012, he's the only player to have started all six matches for Paul Rideout's team and his play within the academy led to his recruitment by Division I powerhouse Creighton, to whom he recently signed his National Letter of Intent to play college soccer for in the fall.
SB Nation contributor Alex Englen caught up with Eric for a Q&A on his college plans and his experience with the Sporting Kansas City Juniors. Check it out!


Saturday, February 4, 2012

 Congrats, Betsy!

Mr. and Mrs. Maxfield

Sporting Kansas City's Director of Youth Soccer Betsy Pollard (shown above at Wembley Stadium in London) oversees all the behind-the-scenes details that go into providing the Juniors program with every last element the teams need to be successful. From scheduling flights and hotels for road trips to coordinating tryouts and youth soccer camps right here in KC, her influence is felt across all aspects of the academy...including this blog.

So it only seems appropriate that we use this space to be among the first to not only wish Betsy a happy birthday today, but also a blessed wedding day! She'll be tying the knot with her fiancé Ryan in sunny Manhattan Beach, California (and yes, last we heard, a game of beach soccer was on the day's itinerary).

Best wishes from all of us at Sporting KC on the first of many more cherished memories for the newlyweds!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

 Hare & Schrick sign NLI's

Wednesday marked a major moment for several Sporting Kansas City Juniors players as the first day of February brought the NCAA's official signing day for high school seniors to sign their National Letters of Intent for college soccer. Sporting KC will hold a formal ceremony in two weeks at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park to recognize all the college commitments from our soon-to-be graduates and we'll have plenty of photos and video to share from that event.

Two of the college-bound Juniors are Rockhurst High's Daniel Hare and Derek Shrick, whose friends and family gathered yesterday for their school's signing ceremony, led by Hawklets Coach Chris Lawson.

Hare signed with Loyola of Chicago and Schrick will play for Southern Methodist University. After the signing, both the Hare family and the Schrick family shared their excitement and anticipation for the boys further success as they embark on the next step of their soccer and academic careers.

Adam Hare, a Rockhurst Alum, was in attendance wearing a Sporting KC windbreaker to support his younger brother, as he and the two signee's ensured they would continue to follow Sporting Kansas City and their voyage in 2012.

Check out the video below to see footage from the event: