CREW SOCCER ACADEMY’S ANDREW SOUDERS INVITED TO JOIN U.S. UNDER-17 RESIDENCY PROGRAM
U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach Wilmer Cabrera and his staff recently announced that Crew Soccer Academy defender Andrew Souders of Amherst, Ohio, is among 40 players who have been invited to participate in U.S. Soccer’s Under-17 Men’s National Team Residency Program for the 2009 fall semester. The roster blends 24 players who were born in 1992 and 1993 as they build toward the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup from Oct. 24-Nov. 16, in Nigeria, and 16 born in 1994, who are also eligible for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The U.S. players live on campus at the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., and train in the morning under the guidance of Cabrera and assistant coaches Paul Caffrey, Gerson Echeverry, Paul Grafer and Keith Fulk. In the afternoon, the players attend classes at nearby Bradenton Preparatory Academy. While in the full-time residency program, the U.S. not only trains daily under Cabrera, but also has access to the IMG Academies’ spacious facilities. The team regularly uses the state-of-the-art strength-training facilities, as well as some of the nation’s best sports psychologists. The facilities include top-of-the-line soccer equipment, three Bermuda grass fields, an indoor dome with artificial turf, two swimming pools, newly renovated student housing and dining facilities.