CHICAGO (Oct. 19, 2007) – The U.S. Soccer Development Academy will stage its Winter Showcase at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas from Feb. 16-18, 2008. The U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups will each boast 43 elite clubs from across the country and a total of 86 games that will be played over the course of the weekend.

Clubs from 19 different states will be represented in Frisco, with California and New York sending five each, while North Carolina, Illinois and Ohio will each send four. Every team will play two games with teams against non-conference opponents to complement their intraconference schedule. The complete Winter Showcase schedule will be announced at a later date.

The showcase will also feature the nation’s top referees as selected by U.S. Soccer’s Professional Referee Assignors. The referees at the weekend’s matches will be trained and evaluated by the top members of the U.S. Soccer referee department.

The U-17/18 competition for players born after Jan. 1, 1989, will play 90 minute games, while the U-15/16 competition for players born after Jan. 1, 1991, will play 80 minute games. Both age groups are limited to seven substitutions with no re-entry.

The Academy Winter Showcase is one of four Showcases throughout the 2007-08 season. The Spring Showcase will be held from May 24-27 and the Summer Showcase will take place June 27-30 at sites to be determined. The first Fall Showcase was held Oct. 6-9 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.  
At the inaugural Fall Showcase held at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on Oct. 6-8, 38 teams played 38 matches in a focus soccer setting in front of scores of U.S. National Team coaches, college coaches and scouts, including national team coaches Bob Bradley, Thomas Rongen and John Hackworth. U.S. Soccer also provided a athletes’ lounge, complete with laptops and furniture provided by Nike, televisions for Xbox Live and plenty of Gatorade products.

In a broad move designed to improve the development environment for players throughout the country, the U.S. Soccer Federation has taken the initiative in formalizing the nationwide development academy. Created to provide players with the best possible opportunity to develop, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy was initiated after a comprehensive review of player development systems in the United States and around the world.  

The showcase matches are part of a nine-month season in which 122 teams will compete in more than 1,800 matches in conference play.  With 2,440 players, 244 coaches and more than 200 referees participating in individual conference games, travel partner weekends and showcase weekends, the Academy boasts the most comprehensive platform for youth competition in U.S. Soccer history.

Winter Showcase Participating Clubs

Northeast Conference

Albertson Soccer Club	Manhasset Hills, N.Y.
B/W Gottschee	Rego Park, N.Y.
FC Greater Boston Bolts	Waban, Mass.
FC Westchester	Scarsdale, N.Y.
Met Oval	Brooklyn, N.Y.
Oakwood SC	Glastonbury, Conn.
Seacoast United SC	Hampton, N.H.
South Central Premier	Branford, Conn.
Mid-Atlantic Conference
Baltimore Bays SC	Baltimore, Md.
DC United	Washington, D.C.
FC Delco	Downingtown, Pa.
Match Fit Academy	Bayonne, N.J.
NY Red Bulls	Secaucus, N.J.
PA Classics	Lancaster, Pa.
PDA	Zarephath, N.J.
Potomac Soccer Association	Potomac, Md.
Atlantic Conference
CASL	Raleigh, N.C.
Greensboro SC	Greensboro, N.C.
North Meck SC	Cornelius, N.C.
South Charlotte SA	Matthews, N.C.
Great Lakes Conference
Carmel United SC	Westfield, Ind.
CASA	Hudson, Ohio
Columbus Crew	Columbus, Ohio
Empire United SA	Rochester, N.Y.
Internationals SC	North Royalton, Ohio
Michigan Wolves	Farmington Heights, Mich.
Ohio Elite	Batavia, Ohio
Vardar SC	Rochester Hills, Mich.
Mid-America Conference
Chicago Fire	Bridgeview, Ill.
Chicago Magic	Frankfort, Ill.
FC Milwaukee	Butler, Wis.
Metro United FC	Edwardsville, Ill.
Scott Gallagher	St. Louis, Mo.
Sockers FC Chicago	Palatine, Ill.
SoCal Conference
Arsenal FC	Alta Loma, Calif.
Irvine Strikers	Irvine, Calif.
LAFC	La Canada, Calif.
Pateadores SC	Yorba Linda, Calif.
Real So Cal	Woodland Hills, Calif.
West Conference
Colorado Rapids	Commerce City, Colo.
Colorado Rush	Littleton, Colo.
FC Portland	Hillsborough, Ore.
Real Colorado	Centennial, Colo.