FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – On Wednesday, July 6, the New England Revolution held open tryouts for its Under-18 and Under-16 teams at the Dana Farber Field House at Gillette Stadium. The Revs’ youth development program is now entering its fourth season, and it continues to be the only fully-funded youth program in New England.
Registration for the event was held online and spots filled quickly, with 150 players signing up within the first two weeks. Attendees came from all over the region, all hoping to wear the Revolution uniform and compete against the country’s best in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
“What we were most pleased about was the variety of backgrounds that many of these kids come from,” said Director of Youth Development Bryan Scales. “With an Academy program that is completely free, we really want to make sure we are seeing the top players, from all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, who dream of playing at the highest level.”
Tryouts were divided into separate two-hour sessions, with the U16s starting at 5 p.m., followed by the U18s at 7 p.m. Each session consisted of a dynamic warm-up and a round-robin series of small-sided games.
Selected players will be called back for a final round of tryouts later this month while the current Under-16 squad continues to prepare for the 2011 Generation adidas U-17 Cup, which will be held from July 24-31 in Frisco, Texas.
