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Development Academy Training Standards Pay Dividends for De Anza Force Offense
Oct 01, 2008
CHICAGO (Oct. 1, 2008) -- In the second year under the guidelines of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, players at De Anza Force (Cupertino, Calif.) have seen their increased training pay off both individually and collectively.
De Anza Under-17/18 forward Mackenzie Pridham credits his club’s new approach to training for his team’s success, and his scoring prowess. On Saturday evening, Pridham tallied all four of his team’s goals in a 4-4 draw with the Santa Cruz County Breakers (Santa Cruz, Calif.). Pridham found the back of the net twice with his right foot, once with his left and also added a goal with his head.
"We have been working a lot on not only fitness but also agility and quickness of foot movement as part of our training," said Pridham. "We have also been emphasizing and working on our weaknesses to improve our overall skills.”
Academy teams are required to train three days per week to maximize the amount of tactical and technical instruction for players. Specifically, the Academy’s emphasis on increased training days allows players to spend additional time on technical repetitions as outlined in U.S. Soccer’s Best Practices for Coaching Education. (to download: http://images.ussoccer.com/Documents/cms/ussf/Best_Practices.pdf)
“The increase in the amount of training we do has helped me, and the team improve and feel sharp for the season,” said Pridham. “Our wing play has improved a lot and my teammates have been playing great service balls into the forwards. We have combined well so far this season in training and in games.”
His coach, Chris Dangerfield, agrees with his player’s assessment.
“The way the Development Academy lays out games and training, we have more of an emphasis and more time to spend on specific training for the players, and I think we’re starting to see the benefits from that,” said Dangerfield. “With players like Mackenzie, we’ve had a solid preseason of preparing for games and working on specific weaknesses.”
The core group of players on the Force have been playing together for years, and spent two months preparing for the 2008-09 season before starting their season with last Saturday’s local match up against the Santa Cruz County Breakers.
“[Saturday’s game] showed the hard work Mackenzie has put in has really helped him improve, and to score with both feet and his head is quite an accomplishment for a striker,” said Dangerfield. “It’s also a tribute to the improvement in the service that our wingers, Kevin Atkins and Taylor Herr, have been providing, and it’s great to see all the training come to fruition.”
The De Anza Force will be back in action next weekend against Chivas USA and the LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Under-15/16 Results:
Saturday, Sept. 27
AFC Lightning 0 – 2 Clearwater Chargers
Richmond Kickers 3 – 0 Atlanta Fire
Nomads 1 – 4 LA Galaxy
Richmond Strikers 0 – 1 Birmingham United
Santa Cruz Breakers 1 – 1 De Anza
Mustang 0 – 2 Washington Premier
Sunday, Sept. 28
Richmond Kickers 1 – 3 Birmingham United
Concorde Fire 2 – 1 Clearwater Chargers
Richmond Strikers 2 – 2 Atlanta Fire United
Chivas USA 0 – 2 San Diego Surf
Santa Cruz Breakers 0 – 2 Washington Premier
Tuesday, Sept. 30
Dallas Texans 0 – 3 Andromeda
Under-17/18 Results:
Saturday, Sept. 27
AFC Lightning 1 – 3 Clearwater Chargers
Richmond Kickers 2 – 1 Atlanta Fire
Nomads 3 – 4 LA Galaxy
Richmond Strikers 1 – 0 Birmingham United
Santa Cruz Breakers 4 – 4 De Anza
Mustang 5 – 1 Washington Premier
Sunday, Sept. 28
Richmond Kickers 1 – 3 Birmingham United
Concorde Fire 1 – 3 Clearwater Chargers
Richmond Strikers 2 – 1 Atlanta Fire United
Chivas USA 1 – 2 San Diego Surf
Santa Cruz Breakers 3 – 0 Washington Premier
Tuesday, Sept. 30
Dallas Texans 0 – 0 Andromeda
Under–15/16 Upcoming Matches:
Friday, Oct. 3
Kickoff Match-up Venue
6:30 p.m. CT Texas Rush AHFC vs. Texas SC Bear Branch Soccer Complex
Saturday, Oct. 4
Kickoff Match-up Venue
2 p.m. ET Atlanta Fire United vs. Miami FC Kendall Scott Hudgens Park
2 p.m. ET Birmingham United vs. Schulz Academy Sports Blast Soccer Complex
5 p.m. ET Richmond Strikers vs. AFC Lightning Striker Park
2 p.m. CT Sockers FC vs. U-17 National Team Olympic Park
1p.m. PT LA Galaxy vs. Cal Odyssey The Home Depot Center
2 p.m. PT Chivas USA vs. De Anza Cerritos College
Sunday, Oct. 5
Kickoff Match-up Venue
9 a.m. ET Atlanta Fire United vs. Schulz Academy Scott Hudgens Park
10 a.m. ET Richmond Kickers vs. AFC Lightning Sports Backers Stadium
10 a.m. ET Birmingham United vs. Miami FC Kendall Sports Blast Soccer Complex
12 p.m. PT Chivas USA vs. Cal Odyssey Cerritos College
1 p.m. PT LA Galaxy vs. De Anza The Home Depot Center
1 p.m. PT Nomads vs. San Diego Surf Kinsell Field
Under–17/18 Upcoming Matches:
Friday, Oct. 3
Kickoff Match-up Venue
8 p.m. CT Texas Rush AHFC vs. Texas SC Bear Branch Soccer Complex
Saturday, Oct. 4
Kickoff Match-up Venue
4 p.m. ET Atlanta Fire United vs. Miami FC Kendall Scott Hudgens Park
4 p.m. ET Birmingham United vs. Schulz Academy Sports Blast Soccer Complex
7 p.m. ET Richmond Strikers vs. AFC Lightning Striker Park
12 p.m. CT Sockers FC vs. U-17 National Team Olympic Park
3:30 p.m. PT LA Galaxy vs. Cal Odyssey The Home Depot Center
8 p.m. PT Chivas USA vs. De Anza The Home Depot Center
Sunday, Oct. 5
Kickoff Match-up Venue
11 a.m. ET Atlanta Fire United vs. Schulz Academy Scott Hudgens Park
12 p.m. ET Richmond Kickers vs. AFC Lightning Sports Backers Stadium
12 p.m. ET Birmingham United vs. Miami FC Kendall Sports Blast Soccer Complex
2 p.m. PT Chivas USA vs. Cal Odyssey Cerritos College
3:30 p.m. PT LA Galaxy vs. De Anza The Home Depot Center
3:30 p.m. PT Nomads vs. San Diego Surf Kinsell Field
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