Potomac Academy teams shine at U.S. Soccer Showcase

The Potomac Soccer Academy kicked off their 2008-2009 season this past weekend at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase at the Lancaster National Soccer Center in Lancaster, California.  The Showcase is the highlight of the winter season for the U.S. Soccer Academy with professional scouts from around the world and hundreds of college scouts attending the event to view some of the nation’s top prospects from the Under-15/16 and Under-17/18 age groups.  Under the guidance of Director of Coaching Dave Kelley (Athletic Director at Churchill High School), the U16 and U18 teams each played three matches and had the opportunity to participate in additional events.

“Potomac Soccer Association is excited about the 2008-2009 Academy season.  We have made several improvements to both the administrative and technical side of our Academy staff and I\'m quite pleased with their performance this season," said Kelley. "Along with that, I am very pleased with the player pool for both our U-16 and U-18 Academy teams.  We\'re proud of the boys for manner in which they represented themselves and Potomac both on and off the field this weekend.”

The Potomac U16 team, kept a clean sheet throughout their 3 games (2 wins and a tie without surrendering a single goal) against Birmingham, Solar and AFC Lightning.  The U16 Team is coached by Zach Samol (also an assistant coach at Georgetown University)
 
The U18 teams took 9 out of 9 points winning 3 straight games and giving up only one goal over the course of the three games.  The U18 team is coached by Bryan Davis (also an assistant coach at George Washington University.)  John Stertzer, a forward for the U18 team, is also featured on the U.S. Soccer website with one of the top goals from the Showcase.

In addition to the three matches, the Potomac teams participated in SPARQ testing (a Nike-sponsored fitness testing program) and had the opportunity to watch the U17 Men’s National Team compete against Brazil and Australia.  While playing matches against the best youth players in the country, the players also participated in Gatorade hydrat ion testing, and ProZone Video Analysis (a new on-screen technique for coaches to evaluate individual player performance during games).