West Ham United National ID Camp
Rough Riders identify 18 Junior Rough Riders
Plainview, NY (June 7, 2010) - The Rough Riders Director of Coaching has selected 18 Junior Rough Riders from the ages of 12 to 14 years of age to attend the West Ham National Player Identification Camp in Northern Virginia in July.
“We are excited to partner with the Rough Riders due to the overwhelming amount of talent in the New York region,” said Paul Heffer, West Ham United Academy Assistant Director.
Directed by Tony Carr and the West Ham United Academy coaching staff will evaluate prospective players who could play for the Academy at West Ham United. Players are invited for a four (4) day residential camp staffed by the West Ham United Academy Coaches from London. The best players invited from the National ID Camp will attend the world famous West Ham United Academy in London for ten (10) days.
According to Tony Carr; “The enthusiasm with American youngsters to get better and to play the game is unquenchable at the moment. There is lots of raw talent in the US and some very good players. There is no question about that. We had a boy come to our academy who was on vacation in the UK, and he made a visit through our links in the USA. We let him join in with our under-12 squad and this player was as good as anyone we had recruited ourselves locally. We know the talent is there in the US.”
Below is a listing of the Junior Rough Riders players selected for the National ID Camp:
Amanda Wroblewski (Girls Under 12)
Kayla King (Girls Under 12)
Brenda Quinn (Girls Under 12)
Kelly DiGregorio (Girls Under 13)
Jen Balzan (Girls Under 13)
Kayla Gansrow (Girls Under 13)
Brianna Scaldaferri (Girls Under 13)
Ashley Wilson (Girls Under 14)
Shannon Brady (Girls Under 14)
Natasha Albaneze (Girls Under 14)
Chris Flores (Boys Under 12)
Tom Golden (Boys Under 12)
Liam McMahon (Boys Under 12)
Brendan Iris (Boys Under 12)
Michelangelo Sini (Boys Under 14)
Justin Carfora (Boys Under 14)
Joe Swenson (Boys Under 14)
Junior Rosero (Boys Under 14)
"We are very excited to send these 18 players to the National ID Camp," said Rough Riders Coaching Director John Diffley. "This is an excellent opportunity for these players to be evaluated on the international stage at this level."
For more information on the West Ham National ID Camp please click here.
About West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club has one of the most respected youth academies in world football. Under the direction of academy director Tony Carr, the West Ham United Academy has produced many players who have gone on to play at the very top level of professional football. The club has established the International Academy to develop partnerships and programs in the USA and Canada that can share West Ham United Academy coaching methodology to assist the long-term development of North American players.
About the Long Island Rough Riders
The Rough Riders have been part of the Long Island soccer landscape since their inception in 1994. In 1995 both the Rough Riders Men’s and Women’s teams won their first United Soccer League (USL) National Championship. Since their initial success, the Rough Riders Men’s team has gone on to win the 2nd Division National Championship in 2002 while the Rough Riders Women’s team qualified for the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008.
The Rough Riders are known for developing players including former US National Team members Chris Armas, Tony Meola, and MLS All Star Giovanni Savarese and Jimmy Rooney along with US Olympic Team Member and current Junior Rough Riders Coaching Director, John Diffley.
More recently the Rough Riders helped jumpstarted the careers of Mike Grella who is currently playing at Leeds United in England, Mike Palacio at FK Radnicki Obrenovac in Serbia, Gina DiMartino Philadelphia Independence in the Women’s Professional Soccer league and Sue Weber who has just returned to the Rough Riders after being drafted by the Boston Breakers in 2009.
The Rough Riders are also comprised of a Junior Rough Riders program, featuring elite level players from 8 to 17 years of age. Junior Rough Riders teams compete in regional and national tournaments while teams from 13 to 17 years old participate in the Super Y-League (SYL), the youth component of the United Soccer Leagues (USL).
