[nas] U17 residency

Thought you all might be interested in this list of additions at Bradenton.
Looks like Freddy Adu is the forefront of a wave of African additions to
the national team program. There are four in the list of eight kids below.
(Note the comments about the 13-year-old!) From the names on the list at
the link below, I'd say there are many others.

Of course, being selected at 16 is no guarantee for future playing time.

Personal note: My son has played with Alex Nimo, who is one of the
additions. He's another diminutive kid, like Adu, but bulky and strong.
Very quick, yet also powerful, I think one of his best attributes is the
way he uses his body. At the club, he's been playing playing up a couple of
years for a long time. Unfortunately for my son's team, now at U17, it
looks like Alex will be gone when he finally would have been playing with
his actual age group, since U18 is the oldest they go.


_______
PROFILES: The new U.S. U-17 residents

U.S. under-17 national team head coach John Hackworth welcomed eight new
players for the ninth year of U.S. Soccer's full-time residency program at
IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The semester kicked off at the beginning of
January, but a few players were on trial, giving Hackworth and his staff
time to evaluate which players would be invited into the program full-time.

<http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562138539>2007 U.S. U-17
residency roster
The 40 players in the program will be vying for a spot on the U.S. roster
for the 2007 CONCACAF Under-17 Qualifying Tournament April 21-29 against
Canada, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago and host Jamaica The U.S. is the only
country that has qualified for all 11 previous FIFA U-17 World Cups. The
2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup will take place in South Korea from Aug. 18-Sept.
9.

Some of the new players were brought because they have a chance of helping
the USA in qualifying. Others were brought in as long-term prospects.

The eight new residents include 13-year-old phenom Charles Renken, a native
of Zambia, and Gale Agbossoumonde and Alex Nimo, who both spent part of
their childhoods in refugee camps in West Africa and came to the USA with
the assistance of Catholic Charities. They join other African immigrants
such as MLS draft pick Abdus Ibrahim (Ethiopia) and Israel Sesay (Sierra
Leone) who are expected to make the U-17 roster.

GALE AGBOSSOUMONDE (Syracuse Blitz, N.Y.). Born in Togo and raised in a
refugee camp in Benin with his family. Moved to the United States almost
seven years ago. Like his brother, Mawuena, joined the varsity team at
Syracuse prep power CBA as an eighth-grader. Mawuena, a junior, and Gale, a
freshman, led CBA to the semifinals of the 2006 New York Class A high
school championships. Gale's high school coach, former indoor pro goalie
Joe Papaleo, says he is a child in a college body.

EDER ARREOLA (FC Barcelona, Calif.). The 5-foot-6 midfielder/forward was
invited to join the residency program after playing with the U-17 '91s at
the Nike Friendlies and Disney's Soccer Showcase in December. FC Barcelona
teammate Jesus Gonzalez also got a look with the U-17s. Arreola, only 15,
was reportedly pursued last fall by Mexican club Chivas Guadalajara.

BRICE CARR (FC Milwaukee). All-Milwaukee area prep pick last fall as a
junior at Marquette High School. The versatile Carr played at center back
with Region II all-stars.

CHRIS CUMMINGS (Real So Cal, Calif.). Played on Real So Cal (formerly So
Cal United) team that won the 2006 USYS U-15 national championship. The
scrappy midfielder also starred for Crespi, a Southern California prep
power, where he was a junior.

CHRIS KLUTE. (Dallas Texans). Product of the Dallas Texans youth program,
which also has Greg Garza and star Jared Jeffrey in the residency program,
Klute, a 6-foot-1 defender, was a junior at Grand Prairie High School.

ALEX NIMO (FC Portland, Ore.). Born in Liberia, Nimo moved with his family
to a refugee camp in Ghana, where he spent most of the first nine years of
his life. Nimo and his family were granted asylum as political refugees and
moved to Oregon, where he was discovered by the late Clive Charles and
placed in FC Portland. The senior from Benson High School is considered one
of the best players to ever come out of Oregon. Nimo received his U.S.
citizenship in November 2006.

CHARLES RENKEN (Scott Gallagher, Mo.). Considered the second coming of
Freddy Adu, but Hackworth is taking it easy with the Zambian-born Renken,
who won't be considered for the 2007 U-17 World Cup. Renken only turned 13
in December, but he has attracted the interest of such clubs as AC Milan
and Bayern Munich. Renken was adopted by Seth and Pam Renken in 2003 and
moved to Southern Illinois with older brother Peter. Their other brother,
Richard, had already been adopted by the Renkens.

BILLY SCHULER (Match Fit Academy, N.J.). The 5-foot-11 forward scored 22
goals last fall as a junior for Peddie School. Three other Match Fit
players were with the U-17s for the Nike Friendlies in December.



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