RSL Arizona
The
RSL-Arizona Boys Under-17 program is proud to announce the final roster for its upcoming
Summer 2009 season. The Real Salt Lake Youth Development Program thanks the more than 150 hopefuls that attended this year's tryouts, but only the following
30 players made the cut for the 2009 edition of the squad, which will begin practicing on the campus of Grand Canyon University on Wednesday, May 27, from 5:15-7:15 p.m. PT.
| Raul Alvarado |
Jesus Leyva |
| Sean Ayers |
Nick Miller |
| Brian Bates |
Erick Mora |
| Matt Bersano |
Daniel Olivas |
| Blake Brennan |
Ian Palmer |
| Matthew Cartwright |
Patrick Poblette |
| Tanner Clay |
Felipe Reyes |
| Tyler Conklin |
Amado Sanchez |
| Gilberto Gomez |
Ari Sanchez |
| Stainton Graham Smith |
Jorge Sanchez |
| Jared Hanze |
Dony Toia |
| Byran Hernandez |
Ricardo Velazco |
| Nigel Hesse |
Erik Venegas |
| Ryan Holt |
Craig Wadas |
| Eduard Jasso |
Quincy Wento |
The RSL-Arizona U-17 coaching staff will stay largely intact this season, with former assistant
Jon Pearlman moving up to the head coaching role for the first time in 2009. Pearlman will be assisted by staff holdovers
Harry Demos and
Keir Cochran, while
Roberto Beall will join the squad for his first season with the team. As part of this year's schedule, the RSL-Arizona U-17s are scheduled to travel to Salt Lake City from June 27-29 to take part in friendlies against local sides and catch the first team's MLS regular season affair against Toronto FC on Saturday, June 27.
Since its launch in 2007, the RSL-Arizona program has staked its claim as one of the most successful youth soccer outfits in the western United States. The inaugural 2007 season saw the program's U-16 team burst out of the gates by claiming the United Soccer Leagues (USL) Rocky Mountain Division title and a third-place finish at the Super-Y League National Championships that summer. That squad moved on to the U-17 age group last year and enjoyed even bigger success, the team first winning US Club Soccer's Region F title to qualify for
US Club Soccer National Cup VII in Virginia Beach, Vir., where it went undefeated in four contests to hoist the
Doug Hamilton Memorial Cup as the U-17 Super Group champions.
In addition to those triumphs, a trio of RSL-Arizona players were members of the Real Salt Lake Under-17 Team during its successful run to the
2008 MLS SUM Cup title last July, a feat that allowed the Claret-and-Cobalt to represent Major League Soccer at next month's
U-17 Club World Cup in Madrid, Spain. Numerous RSL-Arizona players across the past two seasons have participated on Arizona's Olympic Development Program (ODP) side, with the team's alumni including Houston Dynamo 2009 draftee and current U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team starter Danny Cruz, and Adrian Saldana, who will represent the Ogden Outlaws during the upcoming 2009 USL Premier Development League (PDL) season. Seventeen of last year's 25 team members went on to earn collegiate scholarships for the fall of 2008.
For more information on the Real Salt Lake Youth Development system, click on the "YOUTH DEVELOPMENT" link on RSL's official website, www.RealSaltLake.com. A tentative RSL-Arizona Under-17 schedule for the summer is listed below. For more information about the 2009 RSL-Arizona U-17 program, please contact RSL-Arizona Team Administrator
Todd Anderson at
todd@myafg.net or
520-886-8686.
RSL-Arizona 2009 Schedule
July 25-28: US Club Soccer National Cup VIII in Hampton Roads, Vir. (if qualified)
RSL-Arizona U-17 Practice Schedule (subject to change):
*** Practices to be held at Grand Canyon University every Wednesday and Saturday, beginning May 27:
July schedule and college prep training TBA
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