Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com

By AVI CREDITOR

WASHINGTON -- Perry Kitchen had just about everything including the kitchen sink thrown his way in 2011.

As a rookie, Kitchen started 30 of a possible 34 games for D.C. United, splitting time across three positions.

Player Development is such a hot-button topic right now in the United States, and as US Soccer and Major League Soccer moves forward with youth development models and curriculums, Leander Schaerlaeckens of ESPN caught up with some of the top minds in US soccer to discuss 'where do we go from here?'
Bob Bradley, head coach, Egypt national soccer team

"It still comes down to how many good people get with clubs and are working with young kids to make sure things are done right.

By AVI CREDITOR

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Montreal Impact made Duke centerback Andrew Wenger the first selection in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, taking the versatile, U.S. Under-23 defender with its first-ever draft pick.

Wenger, the 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy winner, is the reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year, a year after he captured the conference's Defensive Player of the Year honors.

As expected, the Columbus Crew signed two-time National Champion and Soccer America's College Soccer Player of the Year for 2011 Ben Speas as a homegrown player. Speas won the 2010 College Cup with the University of Akron before transferring to UNC and winning it again in 2011. Speas scored the only goal in the 2011 final, winning the MVP award.

Connor Walsh Caleb Porter has just wrapped up the second of what will be four U-23 training camps ahead of 2012 Olympics Qualifying which begins for the United States this coming March. The teams' first camp, this past November, was held in Duisberg, Germany and due to Porter's commitment to the University of Akron, the [.

Former LA Galaxy player, NCAA Champion & brother Julian Valentin writing for TSG
You can follow Julian on Twitter here

January 13, 2011.

Sponsored by Men's Warehouse...twice...

Zarek and I certainly didn't plan it that day, but we ended up wearing the same black suit the buy one, get one half off special from Men's Warehouse.

Real Salt Lake's Luis Gil and Sporting Kansas City's Teal Bunbury saw their MLS seasons ended on Sunday as their teams suffered conference final defeats, but neither will have much time to sulk after being called into the U.S. Under-23 national team camp in Germany.

Gil and Bunbury bring the total number of players in the camp to 37 players.

U.S. Men's U-23 National Team Coach Caleb Porter has named his roster for the upcoming training camp to be held between November 6-17 in Duisburg, Germany. Porter was recently appointed by the USSF as the U-23 coach, but will not actually be present at the camp as he will be leading his University of Akron [.

U.S. Soccer announced today the naming of University of Akron coach Caleb Porter as the new U-23 Men's National Team coach. Porter's appointment is effective immediately. US Soccer said he will continue his job as head coach at Akron. "I am honored and feel extremely privileged to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity [.

Caleb Porter will now lead the U-23 National team. (Photo via Akron Athletic Department)

A bit of news we heard about yesterday over on Twitter. University of Akron head coach Caleb Porter has been officially named the US U-23 head coach more importantly the Olympics head coach for the US.

Eclipse Select Communications
CHICAGO -- Eclipse Select Soccer Club U-18 goalkeeper Klaire Adee has made a verbal commitment to play for the University of Akron women's soccer team beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.
The Rockford, Ill., native is in the midst of her 2011-2012 senior year at Boylan Catholic High School.

This past weekend, two of the Union's youth development affiliates faced off against one of the premier teams in the entire country. In fact, the past round of games could be thought of as something of a rivalry week for FC Delco and PA Classics.

One thing is for sure, though: it was a weekend that Delco and Classics will quickly want to forget.

Posted by Jared Montz

Image via D.C. United

This week's guest on the Jared Montz Soccer Podcast is Perry Kitchen. Perry was a 2011 top draft pick for D.C. United and he recently won a collegiate National Championship with the University of Akron. Perry is a 19 year old Generation Adidas player, U-20 USMNT player and is one of the rookies most expected to have a great rookie season.

Posted by Jared Montz

Image via D.C. United

This week's guest on the Jared Montz Soccer Podcast is Perry Kitchen. Perry was a 2011 top draft pick for D.C. United and he recently won a collegiate National Championship with the University of Akron. Perry is a 19 year old Generation Adidas player, U-20 USMNT player and is one of the rookies most expected to have a great rookie season.

At some point today, we'll have a complete list of Seattle Sounders Academy players who signed National Letters of Intent, but we can confirm at least three players who did, as well as one who has not yet signed. Defender DeAndre Yedlin has officially committed to the University of Akron; defender Nick Palodichuk has already enrolled at Duke University; and goalkeeper Ryan Herman has committed to Santa Clara University.

I've been in and out of the stadium this week with flu, and found some great shots from this year's Major League Soccer SuperDraft on my hard drive. As many of you know, we selected defender/midfielder Perry Kitchen from the University of Akron. Below is the best of the bunch from the festivities in Baltimore, Md.

That's the question that Jason Davis of US Soccer Players Newsletter asks about the best way to find talent for the US National team, referencing the emergence of US internationals Juan Agudelo and Teal Bunbury.
Agudelo comes out of the US Soccer Development Academy from the New York Red Bulls, where Bunbury comes out of the college soccer factory at Akron University.

Much has been made of the record breaking selection of seven players from the University of Akron in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft.

Rightly so. After all, five of them were among the first eight picks in the draft.

That coach Caleb Porter and his staff have gotten it right when it comes to player development is only underscored when you recall that five of this year's Generation adidas class of nine also played at Akron.

Akron's Darlington Nagbe is a projected top three pick in the MLS SuperDraft

by Stanley Holmes

With seven players entering the MLS SuperDraft– and six projected to be first-round selections on Thursday – University of Akron has emerged from relative college-soccer obscurity five years ago to powerhouse today.

Glenn Davis seems to think so. Read the link to his blog from the MLS Combine, as well as an excerpt of it below.

Some might believe that the University of Akron could be re-shaping how we see the game of college soccer. Others may not be so quick to support this theory but one thing is for sure, Zips coach Caleb Porter is definetly clear on the philosophical way his team will play the game and is stirring the pot directly and indirectly with his peers.

The Portland Timbers added two more players to their roster by virtue of the MLS SuperDraft, taking University of Akron forward Darlington Nagbe with the second overall pick and Tulsa defender Chris Taylor with pick 22. The Timbers also acquired an additional international player spot in a trade with the Seattle Sounders, and additional allocation money which can be used to sign players from Houston in draft day deals.

Posted by Jared Montz

In case you didn't hear the MLS draft was today and the University of Akron had 7 of it's players drafted. Yes, 7 players. If you do the math that's 64 percent of their starting 11 being drafted. Very impressive from the Zips.

I was reading up and youtubin them when I saw this video from one of their players doing a mock Joga Bonita.

Major League Soccer held their 2011 SuperDraft today at the NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, Maryland.

The expansion team Vancouver Whitecaps had the first choice overall and took 17-year-old forward Omar Salgado which seemed to surprise everyone but the Whitecaps.

VANCOUVER, BC The Vancouver Whitecaps surprised many by selecting 17-year-old forward Omar Salgado of El Paso, Texas, with the first overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday morning. Salgado is a 6-foot-3 member of the U.S. under-20 national team with great touch, but he's considered more of a project than the other [.

The University of Akron with three former players selected back-to-back-to-back:
Pick #2 Overall -- Darlington Nagbe -- Midfielder -- Portland Timbers
Pick #3 Overall -- Perry Kitchen -- Midfielder/Defender -- D.C. United
Pick #4 Overall -- Zarek Valentin -- Defender -- Chivas USA

Major League Soccer's annual draft unfolds tomorrow. There will be game changers taken early who will meet expectations, there will be a few busts to giggle about and there will surely be solid role players aplenty plucked from the college and amateur ranks. Nothing new there.

But something is likely to happen tomorrow that is unprecedented in MLS draft history.

As most of you are well aware, the MLS Super draft will be held next Thursday at the NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, Maryland.

As always the SuperDraft is proceeded by the MLS Combine where a select number of chosen players participate and are looked at by MLS Clubs but other lower division teams will also have representatives there.

The University of Akron's Darlington Nagbe has won the prestigious Hermann Award, presented by the Missouri Athletic Club to the best player in the NCAA.
Nagbe is a former star with Internationals and played in the Development Academy's inaugural season. He adds the Hermann Award to the College Cup title that the Zips won in December.

One thing I like about the MLS Superdraft is that it is the type of draft where a first round player can make an almost immediate impact. Some sports try to hype their drafts, but at the end of the day the draftees will languish in the minors for a few years hoping to eventually make the big leagues.

Major League Soccer today announced the 2011 adidas MLS Player Combine rosters and Combine coaches. In addition to the initial list of Division I collegiate seniors and Generation adidas signings invited to play in Combine, MLS has added seven more collegiate seniors and five non-collegiate players to the list of participants.