Futures Program Expands to U-11 & U-13
Earlier this year, the Rapids Academy announced they would no longer have an Academy program for their U-12 age group but would instead begin the Futures program, geared toward holistic development of a wide breadth of players across the state of Colorado through weekly training sessions with flexible rosters and no competitive matches.
Now, the Academy is excited to expand that program beyond U-12, to the U-11 and U-13 age groups as well.
“In terms of player development and player recruitment at these younger age levels, it’s a really interesting challenge,” Academy Technical Director Chris Cartlidge said. “When you look at a player U-11, they may look really different by the time they’re U-18, in terms of their physical maturation and their mental and emotional maturation.
“When we bring players into our system under 14 years old, we create an environment where players understand the commitment at the Academy level, and really then introduce players into our style of play and our philosophy. So, they can then progress into the U-15 and U-17 age divisions.”
For the U-13s, this allows players in this young age group to limit the travel and commitment that an Academy program demands and instead continue to develop with their home club in addition to through the Futures program.
“We see the journey for the U-11 age division to the U-19 age division, it can sometimes be a really sometimes challenging pathway for the players. The ability for the player to stay with their home club, have a bit more time playing with their friends, perhaps have more less time commuting to the stadium, actually removes some of the pressures that come with being a part of the Academy,” Cartlidge said. “It gives the players a bit more time to play and experience the game with their peers and friends for a longer period.”
For more information about the Futures program, click here.
Rapids Academy Enjoys Successful Month of May
In competitions, the Colorado Rapids Academy teams were dominant in the month of May, finishing the month with a fourth-place ranking in the Top 100 Boys Soccer Clubs by Soccer Wire.
The U-19s kicked off the month with a pair of 3-2 wins over FC Dallas and Solar Soccer Club. Elliot Nottoli and 16-year-old Yaya Toure scored for Colorado against Solar SC. Meanwhile, the U-15s dropped their first match to FC Dallas but rebounded with a 3-2 win over Solar SC.
The following weekend saw the Rapids U-17s earn a dominant 4-1 win over Seattle Sounders FC on May 7, with Alan Salgado notching a brace, while Anthony DeFillipo and Joaquin Torres also scored. Then on Saturday, the U-16s defeated Real Colorado, 1-0, with a goal from Zack Salfi.
Jacob Lahlou, Devyn Mena and Joshua Elicerio scored to lead the Rapids U-15s to a 3-0 win at RGV FC Toros on May 15. The U-14s also won that day, defeating Total FC 4-0, with goals coming from Justin Ceballos, Carlos De Luna Villalpando, Joey Gonzalez and Martin Flores Bravo. The Rapids U-14s picked up an even bigger win the next day, 6-0 over RISE SC. Villalpando and Bruce Quinones each scored twice and Ceballos and Taban Luna added one apiece. The U-19s drew RGV FC Toros, 0-0.
The next weekend saw the Rapids Academy teams sweep all 10 games. Saturday saw the U-19s defeat RGV FC Toros, 7-0, with two goals each from Vladimir Walent and Nicholas Legendre, and Nottoli, Isaiah Quarcoo and Sam Bassett also scoring. The U-17s defeated RGV FC Toros, 3-2, with goals from Torres, 16-year-old Darren Yapi and Cam Wilkerson. The U-15s won, 2-1, with goals from Ibrahim Al Saaid and Andre Romo.
Sunday saw the Rapids Academy teams win all six games at U-19, -17, -16, -15, -14 and -13 age groups, outscoring their RISE SC counterparts 37-4. The U-13s won the second match of their double-header, 4-0, over Diversity SC.
U-19s:
May 1 – W, 3-2 vs. FC Dallas
- May 2 – W, 3-2 vs. Solar SC: Nottoli, Toure
- May 15 – D, 0-0 vs. RGV FC Toros
- May 22 – W, 7-0 vs. RGV FC Toros: Walent (2x), Legendre (2x), Nottoli, Quarcoo, Bassett
- May 23 – W, 5-1 vs. RISE SC: Yapi (2x), Flores, Cordova, Doidge
U-17s:
- May 1 – L, 3-4 vs. FC Dallas
- May 2 – L, 0-2 vs. Solar SC
- May 7 – W, 4-1 vs. Seattle Sounders: Salgado (2x), Anthony DeFillipo, Joaquin Torres
- May 22 – W, 3-2 vs. RGV FC Toros: Yapi, Torres, Wilkerson
- May 23 – W, 4-1 vs. RISE SC: Travis, Ovesen, DeFillipo, Salgado
U-16s:
- May 8 – W, 1-0 vs. Real Colorado: Salfi
- May 23 – W, 10-1 vs. RISE SC: Castellon (3x), Salfi (2x), Lozano, Berumen, Moore, Belzer, Anderson
U-15s:
- May 1 – L, 0-3 vs. FC Dallas
- May 2 – W, 3-2 vs. Solar SC
- May 15 – W, 3-0 vs. RGV FC Toros: Lahlou, Mena, Elicerio
- May 22 – W, 2-1 vs. RGV FC Toros: Al Saaid, Romo
- May 23 – W, 4-0 vs. RISE SC: Lahlou, Elicerio, Romo, Rico
U-14s:
- May 1 – D, 1-1 vs. FC Dallas
- May 2 – D, 2-2 vs. Solar SC
- May 15 – W, 4-0 vs. Total FC: Ceballos, Villalpando, Gonzalez, Bravo
- May 23 – W, 7-0 vs. RISE SC: De Luna, Robles, Ceballos, Gonzalez, Brown, DeSimone, Guven
U-13s
- May 23 – W, 7-1 vs. RISE SC: Soltero (3x), Madera (2x), Alvarado (2x)
- May 23 – W, 4-0 vs. Diversity SC: Soltero (2x), Rodriguez, Aguirre
