Three years ago, the original USASA Elite Player National Camp took place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. This year, the Camp is facing a slight change as the program was reformatted at the beginning of 2008.

“The Camp is a whole different scenario. We expect the least amount of players in the history of the program. Although we aim for the future to be in the ninety-player bracket per male and female” said Elite Player Program Committee Chairman, Tony Dubrowski. 

The National Camp, which expects about fifty players for each, men and women, will be played at San Bernardino Soccer Complex, San Bernardino, California. Men’s Camp is schedule for June 28 through July 1; while the Women’s will take place on July 3-6, 2008.

In the past, elite regional tournaments were held prior to the National Camp. Coaches and scouts at the state, regional and national levels came out to elite regional events seeking talented players, who once selected, were invited to the annual national camp.

The difference between previous camps and this year’s is that regional tournaments are no longer taking place.

“National coaches are not present in the pre-selection process anymore; therefore, it all depends on scouts in the state or region to recommend a player to the national camp; then, national scouts will determine which players are going to be part of the USASA National Select Team player pool.”

Scoring goals...

The camp indentifies players that exhibit skillful qualities, once chosen to the national roster; they will be showcased in competitions against professional and international teams.

“The camp’s focus is to give players the opportunity to move up in the soccer ladder meaning that they will most likely end up playing for professional teams; the exposure that they receive at the camp as well as national and international encounters is vast.”

For the past year, the USASA has made great strides in establishing annual events for both Men’s and Women’s USASA National Select Teams.

After an absence of over ten years, the Men’s National Select Team went back to Europe and played a two game series against the Ireland National Amateur Team in Ireland. The first game was played on July 25, 2007 in Cork City, followed by a second encounter on July 29, 2007 in Tipperary Town.

USASA’s own National Select Team was successful in both games by winning 1-0 and 2-0 against a well respected team that has been very successful in European international competition over the last several years.

“Because of our victory in Ireland, more European coaches would be interested in our players.”

The USASA Women’s National Select Team visited Mexico in January, 2008; this time they played Mexico Women’s Olympic Team in a two game series.

On January 25, the first game was played in the nearby town of Jalapa, where Mexico cruised to a 1-0 win over the Women’s Select Team. The second match, played at the Mexico National Training Center, sealed off the international tour with a second victory for Mexico, a 3-2 win over USASA. 

The Women’s National Select Team left for Mexico back in 2005 and played not one but two games vs. the Mexican National Team with a 3:2 win and a 0:1 loss.

In 2006, the Women’s National Select Team traveled to the city of Villahermosa, Mexico, where they played to a 2:2 tie against the Mexican National Team, and a second game versus Mexico’s U-20 National Team where USASA’s team was victorious with a 3:0 win.

These types of events give our professional and U.S. National Teams programs an up close and personal opportunity to evaluate USASA players in a direct setting wherein the USASA players showcase their talents against the very players they hope to join.

Dreams do come true...

Recent professional drafts include Justin Braun of Utah State Soccer Association. Braun had been invited to Chivas USA (Major League Soccer) back in January while playing at the USASA George F. Donnelly Cup, the elite player national championship. Justin is currently a Chivas USA forward and wears the number 17 jersey. 

Chris Megaloudis of the Eastern New York Amateur Soccer Association has been capped four times for the Puerto Rican National Team. He scored his first international goal for Puerto Rico on Jan. 26, 2008 against Trinidad and Tobago. Chris played for the Eastern New York Select Team back in January. The team was awarded Men’s Finalists at the 2008 USASA George F. Donnelly Cup in Carson, California.

Megaloudis was signed by the NY Red Bulls (Major League Soccer) in April, 2008. Chris is a forward and wears Jersey number 26.

Katie Larkin also from the Utah State Soccer Association plays for the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team. Forward Katie Larkin has toured the United States as well as Europe on several occasions.

The U-23’s defeated German Women’s Bundesliga club Crailsheim by a 4-2 score on May 20 at the Schoneburgstadion in Crailsheim, Katie assisted on one of the goals. On May 22, the US U-23’s took on Germany’s  U-23 Women’s National Team in front of more than 5,000 fans in Wangen, Germany and came away with a hard fought 1-0 victory. She was also called in to camp in Oregon and played in a friendly; pounding the University of Portland 7-1 on April 18.

Katie is currently at the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team training camp in Carson, California. At this camp, U.S. Head Coach, Bill Irwin will make his final selections to choose an 18-player roster that will travel to Sweden for the annual Nordic Cup being held from July 15-21. 

Men’s National Training Camp Schedule
Women’s National Training Camp Schedule

USASA Men’s National Select Team Player (Red Jersey, White Shorts) and Ireland National Amateur Team Player