In August 2007, Western New York’s top soccer clubs, the Rochester Junior Rhinos, Syracuse Football Club and Buffalo United Soccer Club joined together to form the Empire United Soccer Academy.  In the Spring of 2009, Crown City FC from the Cortland/Homer area joined the Academy.  The unification of these clubs, acknowledges their strong working relationship and shared vision of the development of youth soccer.  This combined organization will enable soccer players at all levels to attain their individual goals and maximize their potential.  In fact, the strength of the new club was recognized when Empire USA received one of the sixty-four initial memberships in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy..

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution has formed a strategic partnership with New York-based Empire United, a youth development program that also plays in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Beginning with the 2012-13 season, Empire United will become “Revolution Empire, A New England Revolution Soccer Club.”
 
Revolution Empire will be the Revolution’s first affiliate youth club, allowing its Academy players, coaches and development-level players access and involvement in the Revolution Academy development and competition system, with the ultimate goal to produce Revolution Home Grown players.
 
“We’re very excited and eager to announce Empire United as our first youth development affiliate club,” New England Revolution General Manager Michael Burns said. “This year, we’ve already expanded our development model by adding an Under-14 team. Now with this partnership with Empire United, we’re expanding our geographic footprint. On top of the successful system we already have in place, we expect this new integrated organization will allow us to identify and develop more players who will one day represent the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.”
 
On the competitive side, the Revolution Academy and Revolution Empire youth teams will continue to compete as separate teams in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. However, both teams will train and develop under a similar system and Empire’s youth teams will be afforded the same training opportunities with the New England Revolution senior team as the Revs’ youth teams.
 
Empire’s elite youth team players will have the opportunity to train with the Revolution first team during the summer months. They can also earn call-ups to the Revolution Reserve team during its 10-game season and Empire’s players will get first-hand coaching from the Revolution Academy coaches at home in Western New York throughout the year.
 
“This promises to be an exciting and fruitful relationship for both Empire United and the New England Revolution,” Revolution Director of Youth Development Bryan Scales said. “When we started having conversations about affiliates, it was very important that we found the right people and the right development model to partner with. We feel we’ve found a perfect fit with Jim Mort, Chris Apple and the entire Empire United family.”
 
Empire’s coaches will have opportunities for ongoing coaching and personal development through the Revolution Academy, including training and education sessions with the Revolution first team and youth technical staffs. Additionally, the Revolution and Empire youth technical staffs will collaborate to introduce a consistent training system for both clubs’ development systems.
 
“Our New England Revolution partnership will provide an exceptional resource that will help Empire improve the standard of youth soccer in Central and Western New York,” Jim Mort, Executive Director of Empire United, said. “We want to be a primary asset to identify young players that have the potential of playing at a professional level and give them the training, facilities, resources and professional coaching in an extraordinary learning environment. We are dedicated to creating opportunities for our young players to excel.”
 
On the development side, the Revolution Academy Regional Development School will establish training programs – both week-long and residential, similar to its New England-based programs – in the Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo markets in partnership with Empire. These training and identification courses for all age groups provide young players the opportunity to get professional coaching and evaluation.
 
Additionally, the Empire Training Center (previously the Market Training Center) will expand with support from the Revolution Academy’s coaching staff. The ETC is an early identification program that allows elite players to be evaluated by Empire’s technical staff for consideration for the club’s Development Academy teams, similar to the Revolution Training Centers with the same mission.
 
“Partnering with the New England Revolution is an incredible opportunity for Empire United and I could not be more excited,” Chris Apple, Director of Coaching for Empire United, said. “Similar to a European club, our players and coaches will now have access to the knowledge, training program and innovation of a professional soccer team. This is a huge step forward for Empire and one that will keep us on the cutting edge of the game and enhance our ability to provide our players with the best developmental experience possible.”
 
For more information about the Revolution Academy - both the competitive youth teams (Under-18, Under-16 and Under-14) and Player Development Programs (including the Regional Development School and residential academy among other programs) – please visit revolutionsoccer.net/academy. For up-to-the-minute information on the Revolution, visit the team’s official web site at revolutionsoccer.net, or follow the team on Twitter at @NERevolution, or on Facebook at facebook.com/NERevolution. For more information about Revolution tickets, special packages and 2012 season tickets, call 1-877-GET-REVS or visit revolutionsoccer.net.
 
For more information about Empire United, please visit empireunitedsa.org.

Also invited into the training camp, is former Empire USA player Jordan Allen.  Although he is currently assigned to Real Salt Lake Arizona, Jordan’s ties to Empire United make Empire the only club to have three players invited train with the U18 National team.  Real Salt Lake Arizona, Baltimore Bays Chelsea, CD Chivas USA, LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, and Philadelphia Union each contributed two players to the squad. 

Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (4): Alex Bono (Empire; Baldwinsville, NY), Ethan Horvath (Stoke City, Eng; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Zackary Steffen (Philadelphia Union; Dowingtown, Pa.), Jacole Turner (Sporting KC; Lee’s Summit, Mo.)
DEFENDERS (11): Miguel Alves (PDA; Newark, N.J.), Robert Amick (De Anza Force; Sunnyvale, Calif.), Suliaman Dainkeh (DC United; Reston, Va.), Mobi Fehr (Basel FC, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan), Dylan Greenberg (Albertson SC; Dix Hills, N.Y.), Trevor Haberkorn (Solar Chelsea SC; Roanoke, Texas), Matthew Habrowski (Derby County Wolves; Berkley, Mich.), Malcolm Harris (Baltimore Bays Chelsea, MD; Damascus, Md.), Jalen Markey (Seattle Sounders FC; Renton, Wash.), Jose Ocampo (CrossFire Premier; Bothell, Wash.), Miguel Polley (unattached; Woodridge, Il.)
MIDFIELDERS (11): Marco Delgado (CD Chivas USA; Glendora, Calif.), Matt Dunn (OFK Belgrade, Serbia; Dallas, Texas), Alejandro Guido (Unattached; Chula Vista, Calif.), Romilio Hernandez (Baltimore Bays Chelsea, MD; Lanham, Md.), Koty Millard (S.C. United Battery; Hopkins, S.C.), Antonio Murillo (Downtown Las Vegas Rapids; Las Vegas, Nev.), Adam Najem (New York Red Bulls; Clifton, N.J.), William Raygoza (LA Galaxy; South Elmonte, Calif.), Kristian Scott (Stoke City, ENG; Winterbourne, U.K.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Stefanos Stemoulacatos (Empire; Camillus, N.Y.)
FORWARDS (9): Jordan Allen (RSL Arizona; Rochester, N.Y.), Paul Arriola (Arsenal FC; Chula Vista, Calif.), Cristian Cruz (San Jose Earthquakes; Hercules, Calif.), Benjamin Lopez (RSL Arizona; San Diego, Calif.), Andrew Oliver (Chicago Fire; Indianapolis, Ind.), Zach Pfeffer (Philadelphia Union; Dresher, Pa.), Esteban Rodriguez (Tijuana, MX; Palmdale, Calif.), Ben Spencer, JR. (CD Chivas USA; Albuquerque, N.M.), Jamie Villarreal (LA Galaxy; Inglewood, Calif.)

His soccer aspirations brought him to Empire United (then Jr. Rhinos) where Jonas helped his teammates and Coach Jeff Oliver capture the NYSW BU14 State Championships.

Hans Fundingsrud, (Jonas’ father) commented to Coach Oliver, “I definitely feel that his season with (Empire United) contributed a lot to his rapid progression. The need to adjust to a new soccer environment, new language, new teammates definitely brought him forward while in the US”.

Returning to Norway, Jonas continued his studies and development as a student of the Norwegian Top Athlete High School (NTG) in Tromsø, where he was signed by Norwegian professional soccer team Tromsø Idrettslag.  Tromsø currently play in the Norwegian Premier League, and holds the notoriety as the northernmost top-level football club in the world.

In the pre-season game try outs for the A-team, he presented himself so well that he was chosen for a spot on the national team roster.  Recently, Jonas has been chosen for The U18 national team roster which will meet Serbia in a double-header on March 27th and 29th.

We wish him good luck in this honorable task.

The GU17 Academy girls are in action next in Las Vegas, for the second and final weekend of competition in the UYSYSA National League, before returning to their next Region 1 Premier League contests in April.

Now with 14 seasons as the head coach of the Cavaliers under his belt, Gelnovatch has seen his player selection process undergo a major overhaul since the inception of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

“I think the Academy program is still relatively young, but already I think there are some benefits,” said Gelnovatch, who won his first NCAA College Cup championship in 2009. “The standards that have been set by U.S. Soccer for these clubs are good standards, but the biggest change I have seen is in the identification process.”

With Development Academy scouts in attendance at a majority of regular season games and every game during Showcase events, players are identified and tracked more closely and consistently than in the past.

The coaching staff at Virginia takes advantage of both the Richmond Strikers and the Richmond Kickers proximity to Charlottesville. Not only does Gelnovatch keep a close eye on local talent, but he has a full slate of quality teams coming in from across the country on a weekly basis.

Gelnovatch and his staff are also among nearly 300 college coaches in attendance at every Development Academy Showcase.

“For college programs, those Showcase events make it easier to get into a four-day environment and watch all of the Academy teams,” he said. “To come out to three events a year and see all these players shouldn’t be an issue for any major program.”

Keeping a close eye on the Academy talent, Gelnovatch has definitely seen a change in the type of players coming out of the member clubs.

In 2009, the Cavaliers brought in Will Bates from the Richmond Strikers, D.C. United’s Marcus Douglas, Sean Murnane and Shane Cooke, and BW Gottschee NYC’s Ahkeel Rodney, meaning all but one freshman on the team hailed from an Academy club. On Feb. 3, three more Academy players signed National Letters of Intent to play for Virginia as they attempt to defend their national championship.

The 2007 NCAA Champion Wake Forest will add no fewer than six former Academy players to the Demon Deacons squad for 2010. The 2008 and 2005 NCAA Champion University of Maryland also continues to bring Academy players into its highly-regarded program, building on six first-year Academy alums who helped the Terrapins advance to the tournament quarterfinals in 2009.

“The impact of the level of play in the Academy has been tremendous for our program,” said Sasho Cirovski, head coach at Maryland. “Every time you see a game, it’s highly competitive, good spirited and played a very high level with a great deal of accountability. That’s something you want to see as a college coach, how players deal with that kind of environment and it’s more clear when you watch an Academy game than maybe another youth game that isn’t as meaningful.”

In addition, the structure of the program, which includes training at least three times per week and playing games on the weekend, mirrors that of a college season.

“The regimen of playing other Academy teams and traveling with some consistency has definitely added some structure and development that makes the transition from a youth club to a high-level college soccer team a little bit easier,” said Gelnovatch.

As college programs continue spring training in preparation for the 2010 season, Development Academy players continue to train with their respective clubs, hoping for a taste of the NCAA tournament. The current Academy season will conclude at Finals Weeks at The Home Depot Center in July.

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