Today D.C. United released the official list of commitments for their Academy players and luckily some of these very promising players are heading to local Virginia Universities.
Jannik Eckenrode , Sam Legg – Radford University
Ryan Harmouche, Edgar Zepeda – George Mason University
Marcus Salandy-Defour – University of Virginia
See the official Press Release from D.

Youth soccer in Southern California continues to evolve, lead, pioneer, and at least in my opinion, host the largest density of talent in the country. It's like a mecca for the youth game.

Now we too hope to contribute to this landscape on a macro scale and push the envelope even further!

As U.S. Soccer's Youth Technical Director, Claudio Reyna believes a key to improving American player development is convincing more youth clubs to strive for a style of play conducive to nurturing talent. The 78-club U.S. Soccer Development Academy, which kicked off its fifth season this month, is a integral part of the national team program's quest to improve American soccer.

Local beat reporter Scott French made the trip up to Vancouver to cover the Galaxy and was rewarded with Landon Donovan's first quotes on the USA coaching change. Kudos to French, a long-time veteran of the soccer scene, for the scoop.
Donovan's positive reaction to Jurgen Klinsmann's hire didn't surprise me, although he didn't always think so highly of the German coach, however.

With the MISL season fast approaching the player signings have already started with the Missouri Comets as they announced their first signings of the 2011 offseason today.
Ibrahim Kante and Brian Harris have both agreed to contracts with the team, Kante for one year and Harris for two.

The Portland Timbers continue to impress with their community efforts. This week alone, the team donated funds to Concordia University for an athletic complex, announced grants to 10 charitable groups assisting youth, and unveiled the six youth clubs for which Timbers players will become coaches and mentors for their players.

Editor's Note: Whenever and wherever there's free beer and soccer WE WANT TO KNOW. Send us your stories and pictures of that help us prove that we're right in "Building American Soccer One Beer at a Time." The place? freebeermovement(at)gmail.com. The time? Right now.
The Dark Clouds are a wide open group of jackasses that support soccer in Minnesota, focusing mostly on supporting Minnesota's second division NASL side, the NSC Minnesota Stars.

Former Missouri State Head Coach Tommy Howe was interviewed by Soccer America for their Youth Insider series. Check it out!

Tom Howe helped found St. Louis' Scott Gallagher SC in 1976 and coached future stars such as Tim Ream, Brad Davis and Pat Noonan. One of his alums, Cal coach Kevin Grimes, calls Howe "a legend, one of the best youth coaches ever.

Hassan Nazari is one of the top youth coaches in the United States, and leads the Dallas Texans Soccer Club. Nazari spoke to Mike Woitalla for the Youth Soccer Insider's ongoing interview series with leaders of U.S. youth clubs.
SA: What does your club look for when it hires coaches?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! With the Egyptian friendly canceled, it was a slow week in American soccer. MLS clubs are playing pre-season matches against youth clubs, colleges, and each other, and the season is less than one month away. Besides the schedule release last week, here are some other news items flying under the radar:

• Real Salt Lake were the big winners this weekend as they acquired former Wake Forest striker Cody Arnoux in an MLS weighted lottery.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By JOHN BOSCHINI

It's long been a nearly foregone conclusion that if New York is to receive a second MLS franchise, it would be under the banner of the once-defunct New York Cosmos. But MLS Commissioner Don Garber said that the MLS isn't totally sold just yet on making the Cosmos a future franchise.

YouTube Video

Nike's Inside The Pro series covers the stories of six US national footballers rising through their careers. This is Michael Bradley's story.

He got started early. From youth clubs to a 16-year-old pro to the youngest American player ever transferred overseas, it's been an amazing journey for the central midfielder who was until recently running the engine of his German club team as well as the US national team.

Former U.S. Women's head coach and current Bosten Breakers (WPS) head coach, Tony DiCicco was asked by VaSoccerNews for his reaction to the announcement of the new USWNT directors being named.

April Heinrichs and Jill Ellis are two of our most successfull coaches and, although the task in front of them is considerable because we have had a gap in leadership for a number of year.