Reeves' Army

The top of Orlando City Youth Soccer, Orlando City U-20, has begun the first action of our new development system. They won their first match against VSI Tampa Flames U-20, 3-2.

The team, officially known by the USL Super-20 League as “Orlando City Youth Soccer Purple”, is part of the six-team Southeast Division along with Tampa Bay United and Deportivo Ocala, as well as U-20 divisions of PDL teams VSI Tampa Flames, Ocala Stampede and IMG Bradenton Academics.

After another away match next week, the U-20 Lions will play 5 of the next 6 matches at home. Their home field will be Windermere Preparatory School, on Winter Garden Vineland Road (CR 535), roughly half-way between SR 535 and the SR 429 beltway.

The Orlando City website has a schedule for the U-20 team.

Orlando City has announced more ticketing specifics for their 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 2nd round match against USASA’s Kansas City Athletics.

The match will be tomorrow night at 7:30pm. It will be located at Orlando City’s training ground, Seminole Soccer Complex in West Sanford, roughly off I-4 exit 101A (CR 46A). Get off at that exit and turn left (from either direction of I-4), going west. Go to Orange Blvd. (right before the gates of Heathrow), and turn right. Shortly you will get to Markham Road, where you will turn left. SSC will be about 1.5 miles down the road on the right. If you get to Lake Markham Road, you went too far.

The match will be general admission, with an admission fee of $15 per person. Orlando City season ticket holders can get in for free by presenting the plastic card with their name on it that they received with their season tickets.

There will be a cash lane and a credit lane when you get to the complex. You will pay at the gate as you enter, and then park. Parking is no additional cost.

Orlando City is expecting large crowds, so arrive early. The gates will open at 5:30pm.

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Orlando City Youth Soccer has named new coaching directors for their programs, and added a fairly big name.

The coaching director for the boys’ senior academy will be Paul Shaw. Shaw has spent parts of 20 seasons playing football as a midfielder, and has 106 career league goals to his name. In his prime, he scored 51 goals in 7 seasons for Millwall and Gillingham. He also has a Class A coaching license from UEFA.

In a late resurgence, he scored 21 goals in 48 matches for Ferencváros Budapest of Hungary from 2008 through 2010, helping them return to the Hungarian First Division in 2009, and place 7th out of 16 in their first season back. Shaw played six matches for FC New York in USL Pro last year before retiring to take over as caretaker manager for the remainder of the year.

Girls’ senior academy director Steve Crane already works for the Florida Rush.  He also has pro playing experience, with Charlton Athletic and Gillingham most notably. Three of the five newly-named directors for OCYS have worked in Central Florida as youth coaches.

After a heartbreaking early exit from the U.S. Open Cup, Orlando City U-23 resumes its PDL schedule tonight with a match against newcomers Panama City Beach Pirates.

As always, the match is at Seminole Soccer Complex in West Sanford. Game time is 7pm, with admission of $10 per adult, $5 per youth 16 and under.

Adam Soucie has the match preview. Chris Jones has notes and quotes.

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Orlando City Youth Soccer is preparing for tryouts for the 2012-13 season.

Tryouts for the boys’ U.S. Soccer Development Academy, U-15 through U-18, will be all next week, May 21 through May 25.

Non-USSF junior and senior academy will be May 29 through June 1. June 2 and June 3 are reserved as rain check days.

The website linked above will direct you to required paperwork. The registration mechanism has separate areas for single children, and for families with multiple children trying out.

Orlando City U-23 completed four signings today to fill out their roster for the 2012 USL Pro season.

The big story is David Graydon. Originally from Ireland, but raised here, he is finishing his senior year at Montverde Academy, where he wore #10. The 18-year-old midfielder/forward was named an ESPN All-American in his junior year, and rated the #1 prep soccer recruit this past season by CBS Sports MaxPreps and #1 on the PowerAde FAB 50. He had 11 goals and 14 assists for Montverde this past season alone, and has committed to Saint Louis University for the fall semester.

Oumar Diakhite is originally from Senegal, and also graduating from Montverde Academy. He was named All-Central Florida this past season by Orlando Sentinel, and is headed to Lindsey College this fall.

Jason Wellington, 19, is finishing his freshman year at Seton Hall University, and hails originally from West Palm Beach. The senior-year All-State defenseman from American Heritage Prep in Boca Raton started 12 matches for Seton Hall in 2011, scoring 2 goals and 2 assists.

Ricardo Campbell, a midfielder, is no stranger to the PDL; last year he played for the Brooklyn Knights. He attended the Orlando City open tryout, and has trained with the U-23 squad ever since, taking part in their first scrimmage in mid-April.

BTW: For those wondering, Adama Mbengue, who was a popular sight in City’s preseason, has been training with the U-23 squad, but has not signed.

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In other news, Adrian Heath has been named Director of Coaching for Orlando City Youth Soccer.

His credentials include an official UEFA professional coaching license, one of the highest qualifications any coach can receive. Prior to coming to America, he spent several seasons as a coach, including player-manager at Burnley in 1996-97, and two stints as caretaker manager for Coventry City.

Greg Brick, who served as interim Director, will become the Technical Director. Hue Menzies takes over as Director of Soccer Operations.

As Orlando City continues to roll through USL Pro, all the teams of the Orlando City Youth Soccer system do is win.

In the tier-2 2012 FYSA Presidents Cup, tournaments were won in U-11 girls by the Central Florida Krush Black Team, and in U-15 girls by the Florida Soccer Alliance 97 team.

Meanwhile, the tier-1 2012 FYSA State Cup finals continue. The FSA Freedom 93 White Team, the Florida Soccer Alliance U-18 boys team, will be competing in the Round of 16 this weekend.

Orlando City announced today that they have acquired controlling interest in the Florida Soccer Alliance youth soccer club and its training facility, the Seminole Soccer Complex in West Sanford. The youth club, which includes several boys and girls USL Super-Y League teams, will re-brand as Orlando City Youth Soccer Club

As part of the acquisition, Orlando City now controls the Seminole Soccer Complex on Markham Road in West Sanford. The facility has eleven fields, including a 1,500-seat stadium. Orlando City will move their training there; last year, they did their training in Deltona.

Seminole Soccer Complex has, at various points in the past, been the home facility of the Central Florida Kraze. Last year, they played most of their home games at Showalter Field in Winter Park, though they played two at the Citrus Bowl, and one at Cahall-Sandspur Field at Rollins College.

Orlando City is now a unified soccer development structure within the United Soccer Leagues, with teams at various levels of the Super-Y Leagues, a PDL team, and USL Pro.

Orlando City has announced a deal for the 2012 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic for their season ticket holders. Season ticket holders can purchase an all-tournament pass to the Pro Soccer Classic for $49 through the Orlando City ticket office (855-675-2489). This is a savings of $20.

Of course if you want to get season tickets, you can do so through the ticket office or at the team website. Tickets start at $150. All youth soccer players in the area can get season tickets in any section for $99 each.

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Congratulations to our sponsor club Stoke City, who earned a berth in the Knockout Stage of the 2011-12 UEFA Europa League with a 1-1 draw over Dynamo Kiev. A win or draw at Beşiktaş in Istanbul on December 14 would clinch victory in Group E and guarantee second-leg hosting in the Round of 32.

Kyle Conrad, a soccer superstar at Lynn University, died Saturday afternoon after a horrible accident. He was 21.

The senior midfielder was walking with a friend, fellow Lynn senior Joe Cundall, in the early morning hours of Saturday when they decided to take a shortcut over the New River in Fort Lauderdale on a railroad bridge.

This accident did not involve a train; they decided to cross the tracks after a train had just crossed. Instead, it turned out the bridge was a bascule bridge, and rose before they could make it across.

Conrad fell into the river from a height. Cundall was able to hang on and call 9-1-1. Cundall was rescued, and treated for back and ankle injuries.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue found Conrad in the water 10 minutes later. He was rushed to Broward General Medical Center, but attempts to revive him failed, and he was declared dead around 1:30pm Saturday afternoon. The exact cause of his death–whether he drowned, or suffered some other injury–has not been released.

Conrad, from Jensen Beach in Jupiter County, was a teammate of Haitian player Jean Alexandre, who currently plays for Real Salt Lake, and was loaned to the Austin Aztex briefly in 2009. Conrad himself was one of the top players for the Lynn soccer team, and made the ESPN Academic All-American team for Division II in men’s soccer in 2010. He led Lynn to three Sunshine State Conference titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Welcome to Reeves’ Army.

My mission is to provide soccer news in Orlando and around Central Florida. My primary subject is Orlando City Soccer Club. I will also provide news on UCF’s soccer teams, the Central Florida Kraze (our PDL premier amateur team), any of Central Florida’s soccer products, and carry message from Orlando City’s supporters.

Let’s get to work.