Recently in Youth Soccer Category

I'm preparing for my first two-week vacation in three years, so there's no column today.

I'll return next Tuesday with a review of the forthcoming Spanish-language futbol movie "Rudo Y Cursi," which opens May 8 in L.A., and a look at soccer movies in general.

A couple of items of note to pass along:

*CONCACAF this morning announced it was postponing indefinitely the region's Beach Soccer Championship scheduled to begin Wednesday in Puerto Vallarta due to the spread of swine flu in Mexico. CONCACAF on Monday canceled the remainder of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship and postponed the second-leg of the Champions League final until May 12 to "safeguard the health and safety of players, officials and fans."

*The Galaxy and Chivas USA youth teams split a pair of games on the weekend, the Galaxy U-16's beating Chivas USA 4-0 at Home Depot Center, while the Chivas USA U-18's prevailed 3-1 over the Galaxy.

A few items to get caught up on today:

*Midfielder Carlos Martinez (Wilmington Jr.; San Pedro) was today named to the U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team that will compete in the 2009 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship that begins Tuesday in Tijuana.

The U.S. opens against Cuba Tuesday, plays Canada on April 23 and Honduras April 25.

The tournament's semifinalists qualify for the 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup this fall in Nigeria.

All 20 players on the roster attend U.S. Soccer's Under-17 Residency Program in Florida. Also named: Emilio Orozco (Rampage FC; Oxnard) and Luis Gil (Pateadores; Garden Grove).

*Chivas USA's Under-18, Under-16, and Under-14 youth teams will hold an open tryout April 24 in Santa Ana. Cost is $30. A registration form and full info is at the club's Web site on the right hand side of this blog.

Among those slated to watch: José Luis Real, the Youth Development Director for Chivas de Guadalajara.

*Tickets for the Gold Cup go on sale Friday including the Friday, July 3 doubleheader in Carson that sees Canada playing Jamaica and Costa Rica verses El Salvador.

*The Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer formally announced the signing of defender Martina Franko that readers of this blog learned about last Saturday. Franko, who has 54 Canadian caps, is the Sol's seventh international.

"Martina is an experienced leader who will bring a veteran presence to our young and diverse team," said Coach Abner Rogers.

The Sol host Brandi Chastain of F.C. Gold Pride Sunday at Home Depot Center in their second home game of the season.

Busy (and slow-starting) day working on Tuesday's column, a preview of this weekend's game of the MLS season so far: Saturday's match-up between MLS leader Chivas USA and second-place team the Seattle Sounders at Home Depot Center. I'll post that in the morning. (The Galaxy play in San Jose Saturday, BTW).

Names in the news include:

*Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who today became only the club's third to be named MLS Player of the Week after making five saves in the 0-0 draw with Chivas USA on his MLS debut. Ricketts joins Kevin Hartman and Joe Cannon as the only goalkeepers in Galaxy history to keep a clean sheet in their first-ever start for the club.

The only other Galaxy goalkeepers named MLS Player of the Week: Jorge Campos (1996) and Kevin Hartman (1999 and 2002).

*Question: Will David Beckham improve his chances of playing for England at the 2010 World Cup sitting on the bench in Milan or playing in L.A.? Daily Mail.

*Midfielder Alberto Lopez, 17, from Aurora, IL, won the nationally-televised player search Sueño MLS 2009 and will receive an invitation to join the Chicago Fire Juniors.

*South (Torrance) High's Lauren Hein was named Daily Breeze Player of the Year, while South's Brad Gomez was named Coach of the Year.

Photo by Juan Miranda/Chivas USA

I just returned from Galaxy training this morning where I chatted with Coach Bruce Arena and several players about the atrocious U.S. performance against El Salvador Saturday to discover Chivas USA left back/left half Jonny Bornstein has not surprisingly been added to the roster for Wednesday's game in Nashville against Trinidad & Tobago.

Bornstein's versatility should give the left side of the U.S. team added stability given the stuttering performances of the likes of left back Heath Pearce on the weekend.

The Los Alamitos resident hasn't yet recaptured the form that saw him win the 2006 MLS Rookie of the Year award, but seems likely to add to his 14 U.S. caps in midweek.

I'll have more on the U.S. Men's National Team in Tuesday's column.

Also:
*The Galaxy announced today they have sold more than 20,000 tickets for the July 19 friendly against AC Milan at Home Depot Center. All the most inexpensive seats have gone; prices range from $60-$100 for the seats that are left.

*Four players from this weekend's 2009 Sueno MLS tryouts in San Bernadino have qualified for the final event in L.A. April 9-12. They are: midfielder Mikon Orellana, 15, a native of El Salvador who drove from his Provo, Utah home for the tryout; left back Hector Ramos, a native of Mexican-border town Mexicali; central defender Javier Rodriguez, who commuted (!) between his North Las Vegas home and Southern California Saturday and Sunday to participate; and forward Cesar Silva of Anaheim, a former youth player with Mexican team Atlas.

*Finally, your faithful blogger will be on "Which Way, L.A.?" with Warren Olney tonight on 89.9 KCRW between 7 and 8 o'clock talking about the inaugural WPS game Sunday at Home Depot Center.

Today's (selected) games
8 a.m. GOLTV Wales-Finland
Noon GOLTV Germany-Liechtenstein
4 p.m. Telemundo Mexico-Costa Rica
4:30 p.m. Fox Socccer Channel New York Red Bulls - New England Revolution
4 p.m. GOLTV Holland-Scotland
6 p.m. ESPN/Telefutura El Salvador-U.S.

World Cup Preview
The Cal State Northridge connection to today's U.S.-El Salvador World Cup qualifier is here.

Deal Of the Week
Apparently in reaction to a crowd of fewer than 20,000 for the home opener, the Galaxy have slashed prices in a promotion they're dubbing March Madness (has a clever ring to it, doesn't it?).

For the five games against Colorado (April 4), Chivas USA (April 11), New York (May 2), Columbus (May 17) and Houston (June 28) the most expensive sideline seats (usually $75) are $14 and $50 corner seats are $24. The catch? There are a "limited number" of tickets at that price. Call 877-3GALAXY.

Long Beach State Sign Nine
Long Beach has signed nine players for the upcoming season including Shannon Bullock (right) of Manhattan Beach's Mira Costa High School. She will join her sister, Lindsay, on the team who earned Big West Midfielder of the Year honors as a sophomore in 2008.

"Shannon is an athletic winger-type player that can also play forward," said Coach Mauricio Ingrassia. "She has a competitive spirit that will push others around her to be better. Her attitude and work rate are traits that will transform her as a player and I am looking forward to seeing her development."

Youth Will Be Served
From the official Galaxy blog:

On Saturday the Galaxy will host Arsenal, one of the top clubs in Southern California, on Field No. 5 at Home Depot Center. The U-16 game begins at 1 p.m. and the U-18 game starting at 3:15.

Both teams are back in action on Sunday, hosting FC Portland from Oregon. Those games be played on Field No. 7 at the HDC, with the U-16 game starting at 11 a.m. and the U-18 game starting at 1 p.m.

The U-16's, who are coached by Steve Myles, go into the weekend with a 5-2-1 record in the SoCal Division and a 10-5-2 mark overall. As it is the Division record that determines the standings in Development Academy play, the Galaxy currently sit in third place with 16 points, two points behind Arsenal and one point behind Nomads.

The U-18's are currently coached by Pomona College head coach Bill Swartz, who recently took over the job from Warren Barton, who left the organization. They enter the weekend with a 4-4-0 mark in the SoCal Division, leaving them with 12 points, eight points behind Division leaders LAFC Chelsea, and a 7-8-2 mark overall.

Sueno MLS
Galaxy forward Edson Buddle, defender Omar González and midfielders Dema Kovalenko and Stefani Miglioranzi kick off the try-outs at 1:45 p.m. Saturday at the San Bernardino Soccer Complex, 2500 E. Pacific St. More than 1,800 would-be soccer pros will take part.

WPS begins Sunday
Finally, the Shannon Boxx WPS commercial:

Find more videos like this on Women's Professional Soccer

And yeah, the headline is in order of importance.

Heartwarming tale of a Los Angeles-area girls youth soccer team who won a championship, but then couldn't afford to travel to the tournament they had qualified for.

(Any yeah, I know Ryan Seacrest is involved, it's still worth a listen).

Check it out here.

The Sol also trimmed its roster today ahead of Sunday's WPS opener against the Washington Freedom. Here's the roster.

I stopped blogging about high school soccer last year and I don't think any readers noticed (or at least said anything). All the newspapers this bog is affiliated with have prep sports blogs now and I didn't want to be redundant.

But what about youth soccer?

Do you care? Let me know.

U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team
The U.S. beat Bolivia 2-1 today and faces Argentina Wednesday and Uruguay Friday in Buenos Aires as part of a three-game trip in South America ahead of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship in Tijuana.

Southern Californians on the squad include midfielders Luis Gil (Pateadores; Garden Grove) and Carlos Martinez (Wilmington Juniors; San Pedro).

U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team
The team holds a 24-player camp from April 5-11 as part of early preparations for the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

Among the locals called in are midfielder Katie Speidel (Real So Cal/Oak Park) and striker Courtney Proctor (Santa Clarita United Blazers/Santa Clarita).

U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team
The U.S. will hold its first training camp of the year April 4-11 at Home Depot Center with Southern Californians on the roster including forwards Michelle Cruz (Slammers/Thousand Oaks) and Samantha Johnson (Real So Cal/Palmdale).

U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team
UCLA Coach Jillian Ellis has been named coach of the U.S. U-20 team as it begins a new cycle that will hopefully culminate in Germany with a spot in the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup; she had previously served as coach of the team, but had stepped down in January 2008 after she was named assistant coach with the national team. Now she will continue in that post and add the U-20 team (again). Got that?

2009 U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Champions
*Crowned as champions Sunday were the 1993 Girls from California South who beat North Texas 1-0 in Frisco, Texas. Locals on the roster included Marie Mackenzie of Simi Valley, Monique Pendleberry of Newbury Park, Courtney Proctor of Santa Clarita and Haley Rosen of Rolling Hills.

*The 1993 California South Boys beat Oklahoma 4-3 in OT with such locals as Christopher Lopez, Reseda; Eduardo Quezada, South Gate; Henry Rios, Norwalk; Cody Thompson, Westlake Village; and Andrew Trejo, Santa Clarita on the roster.

Who knew?

Galaxy Under-18 midfielder Josh Borja was in Guam Sunday playing a starring role in a momentus achievement for Guam's national team at the East Asian Football Championship. (Guam are one of seven unranked nations in the world. And this time the ranking really does mean something, um, nothing).

The San Diego-born Borja, who qualifies to play for Guam via his father, clinched a place in the semifinals of the competition for Guam after scoring two goals in consecutive games - and just days after making his debut last Wednesday in a 1-0 win over Mongolia in the tournament opener.

Borja scored his first international goal in Guam's 2-1 win over the Northern Mariana Islands Friday and then added yet another in a 2-2 draw with Macau Sunday that clinched first place in the preliminary competition for the country. (Guam tied the game up deep into second half stoppage time).

This is a big deal in little Guam as you might imagine. (Looks like a fairly laid-back crowd in the picture though).

The semifinals are in August against Chinese Taipai (Taiwan), Hong Kong and North Korea in Taiwan.

If Guam can win that group, they will move onto the 2010 East Asian Football Championship in Japan, against China, South Korea and the host nation.

Sounds like Guam is doing better than the Galaxy U-18 team; they're 6-8-2 on the season.

BTW, the U-16 (10-4-2) and U-18 Galaxy teams host Real SoCal at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday respectively on field No. 5 at Home Depot Center. The games are free and open to the public.

The Galaxy have named David Kammarman as the club's director of soccer operations with responsibilities that include player personnel, scouting, talent evaluation, MLS communication and collective bargaining agreement compliance.

He replaces Paul Bravo, who left for the Colorado Rapids.

Kammarman, 37, has worked with three other MLS clubs - the Chicago Fire, D.C. United, and the MetroStars - as well as with ESPN on their broadcasts of MLS and U.S. National Team games.

He's also the identical twin brother of U.S. Men's National Team Press officer Michael Kammarman.

The Galaxy today announced that single game tickets are on sale.

Given the economy the Galaxy has kept the price hikes down to a minimum. General admission and the seats at the extreme ends of the upper tier - the two cheapest categories of seats - remain $25 and $15 respectively.

Other categories have increased between $5 and $2, making the club's most expensive ticket for a game $85 (not including club or fieldside seats). Fieldside seats, BTW, cost $275.

Would you pay prices like that to see a team that has failed to make the playoffs in three years, especially if Beckham doesn't return? Thought not.

BTW, if you want to complain about (or praise) facilities at Home Depot Center direct your comments to new General Manager Katie Druetzler-Pandolfo, who joined the HDC two years ago as event manager. She replaces Rod O'Connor, who left to become chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Energy. A few more TV's for fans stuck in those way to long concession lines would be a good start.

In another Galaxy related item, the team's youth program, formerly known as the Galaxy Rios, will now simply be known as the L.A. Galaxy Youth Academy. The academy fields Under-16, U-18 and U-20 teams.

Contrary to previous reports, David Beckham started and went 45 minutes in AC Milan's friendly in Dubai today. Game details here.

Now we'll see whether he makes his Serie A debut Sunday against Roma in a game scheduled to air live at 11:30 a.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.

Also:
* Sky Blue FC - the New York-New Jersey Women's Professional Soccer entry - announced today the club's first player signings, who include Pali Blues' Australian international Collette McCallum. The 22-year-old set piece specialist scored five goals in eight games for the W-League champions last season.

*Following a 72-player mega-camp at Home Depot Center, U.S. Men's Under-18 National Team Coach Mike Matkovich has named an 18-player squad for the Australian Youth Olympic Festival that takes place later this month. Southern Californians on the squad include Miles Byass (Arsenal FC; San Bernardino).

Photo by Bruce Hazelton

Briefly:

*Cal State Dominguez Hills held a victory rally Thursday for their national championship team. Picture gallery here.

*More reports of the messy tampering charges apparently lodged against the Sounders over former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid are surfacing. Negotiations between the Columbus Crew, MLS and Seattle are likely under way; league officials told me Wednesday they could perhaps comment Thursday on the issue, but didn't release a statement. Schmid is due back in Southern California over the weekend, so perhaps I'll know more then.

*More on the week's preparations for Saturday's U.S. Women's National Team game against China at Home Depot Center here. (Plenty of) tickets are still available.

*The South Bay Force is hosting the Odyssey Cup in the South Bay this weekend. Tournament schedule and more info here.

*Finally, plenty of soccer on the box this weekend.

Best bets include the 10 a.m. Sunday College Cup on ESPN2, an event virtually every MLS coach scouts (including the Galaxy's Bruce Arena and Dave Sarachan) and the 3 p.m. Sunday Caribbean Championship final between Jamaica and Grenada, worth a look to see potential Galaxy target Donovan Ricketts, the goalkeeper for the Reggae Boyz.

Also:
7 a.m. Saturday Fox Soccer Channel Manchester City-Everton
9:30 a.m. Saturday FSC Manchester United-Tottenham Hotspur
10 a.m. Sunday KVEA Toluca-Cruz Azul (the second leg of the Apertura final; Toluca lead 2-0)

First, the flameout:

From the press releases pile-up department:
*Simi Valley-based Los Angeles Futbol Club has become the third youth team in the U.S. to partner with EPL team Chelsea.

What does that mean?

From the (edited) press release:

LAFC will now be LAFC Chelsea and host Chelsea tournaments, training sessions and a player and coach exchange program. As a result of the partnership, LAFC Chelsea will offer more scholarships for young athletes with financial hardship. LAFC provides kids across Southern California and throughout the country the opportunity to play competitive soccer regardless of ability to pay club membership costs.

Chelsea FC Chief Executive Peter Kenyon said: "Our youth super club network is designed to support soccer development in the US. LAFC shares the same goal and has demonstrated rapid growth of their club and talent.

"Since its inception, LAFC has provided young athletes the opportunity to play competitive soccer through financial support. With our new partnership, we hope that the association with Chelsea can attract and leverage additional funding scholarships, helping to further develop the academy and club.

"Providing elite training for young talent is critical to the long-term development of the sport in America."

The club will make its debut under the new LAFC Chelsea nameplate Saturday when its Under-16 and Under-18 teams take on the U.S. Youth National Teams.

LAFC President Don Sheppard said: "LAFC was created to provide an affordable option for skilled players to play top-tier club soccer. We've been able to reach out to economically disadvantaged communities to recruit some of the best talent in the US.

"For a world-renowned club like Chelsea to recognize our mission and be a part of it shows the caliber and quality of their organization and their commitment to develop US soccer.

"We are a young program and a partnership like this allows us to reach the next level on skill development, player participation and overall club exposure. We have a top-tier coaching staff and now with Chelsea our players will receive an international view of the game - something they may not have received otherwise."

LAFC includes over 50 boys and girls teams with 800 players from ages eight to eighteen. Throughout the last year, the academy has placed seven players on US national team rosters.

LAFC is just three years old. Excellent article on the club by Sports Illustrated here.

The details on Saturday's event here.

*Staying in Simi Valley for the moment, Chivas USA will host tryouts there Dec. 12 for its pro and youth teams.

*The Ventura County Fusion also has tryouts Dec. 13-14.

*And for those already pining for summer, registration for the Southern California Beach Soccer Championships in May in Oceanside is open.

By the way, if you're home for the holidays and need a soccer jolt, check out the Women's Under-20 World Cup: at 1 p.m. it's Norway-Brazil on ESPNU and Mexico-North Korea at 2 p.m. on Galavision.

The U.S.lost Wednesday 2-0 to China, BTW, although the team had already qualified for the quarterfinals. Next is England on Sunday.

Finally, here's your gratuitous David Beckham mention of the day.

And here's a gratuitous new David Beckham commercial (he doesn't speak, much less rap and that's really something to be thankful for.) Happy Thanksgiving.

The most amazing thing about this snapshot is it's only two years off in foreshadowing the champion in the picture.

This is the South Bay Gunners 11 years ago in a Nike ad (?!).

When I asked the person who supplied the photo which 10-year-old kid was Robbie Rogers, who grew up in Rolling Hills Estates, he said "Far right, blonde with pot belly."

Is this like your mother showing your naked baby pictures at age 2 to your fiancee? Close.

Champion.

The season is over for the Galaxy and Chivas USA, but scores of kids will play this weekend in the finals of the inaugural Serie de Campeones at Home Depot Center.

The Galaxy program is aimed at the Latino community, providing independent teams - not top club teams - the opportunity to play for a trophy at a lower cost than usual.

Still, there's talent out there. A Galaxy scout found Alejandro Covarrubias, a senior a Bell High School, at one of the tournaments who has become a regular on the club's Under-18 Academy Team and was recently added to the U.S. Under-18 National Team Pool.

Serie de Campeones is a five-tournament program in which the winners of the first four tournaments participate in the fifth one.

There are seven divisions for various age groups, including a competition for girls.

Participating teams include the Gunners, Kids USA, Liverpool, St. Patricks SC, Tigres de Oxnard, Manchester and a Galaxy team.

Games run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday on fields 5 and 7 (the David Beckham Academy field). Admission and parking are free.

,

Beckham Update?
David Beckham wasn't talking today, but Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena did on the possibility of him going on loan to AC Milan:

"I haven't spent a second of my day even thinking about it to be honest. For me personally and with this team, I don't think we would loan any player out for six months. That's how long you have to loan him out for until the next transfer window, which would be June. On the surface, it sounds like an odd proposition. I don't see where that benefits MLS or the Galaxy. "

Who said anything about six months?

Here's Chris Klein on Beckham's pending loan move:

"He wants to win. He made it known when he came over here he wasn't coming here to sell T-shirts. I'm sure he's disappointed in the production of the team in the last year and a half. Does that fall on his shoulders? No. We all take responsibility for the results of this team of late. I'm sure there's that disappointment inside of him, though."

In other Galaxy news:
*Former President and General Manager Doug Hamilton, as well as former midfielders Mauricio Cienfuegos and Cobi Jones are the first honorees of a Wall of Legends intended to "honor individuals or groups who have significantly contributed to the growth and success of the club." Inauguration of the first members is 9:30 a.m. Sunday in the Southwest Concourse of Home Depot Center.

In Chivas USA news:
*Fox Soccer Channel will air both Chivas USA games of its Western Conference semifinal series against either Real Salt Lake or the Colorado Rapids. Game 1 is set for Nov. 1, while game 2 of the series is scheduled for Nov. 8 at Home Depot Center.
* Brad Guzan update.

In college soccer:
*Cal State Northridge men (6-5-3), down one player for the majority of the match, lost 3-2 Wednesday to Cal State Irvine.
*No. 9 USC (12-2-1) meets No. 3 UCLA (13-0-2) 7 p.m. Friday in a rematch of the 2007 NCAA semifinal at the Coliseum. Organizers are trying to set an NCAA attendance record, which stands at 14,410. USC, unbeaten in a program record 19 home games, wants a crowd of 15,000.
Check out the promo.

Lastly, in youth soccer news:
*Lancaster and Cal South will host the 2009 U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV Championships June 15-21 drawing nearly 4,500 players and an estimated 10,000 spectators at the Lancaster National Soccer Complex The 35-field facility will see 248 boys and girls teams, ages Under-12 through Under-19, from the 14 western U.S. Youth Soccer State Associations that make up US Youth Soccer Region IV (Alaska, Arizona, California North, California South, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming). Regional winners of the Under-14 through Under-19 brackets earn a berth to the 2009 US Youth Soccer National Championships.