US Soccer issued a press release today, announcing the fall roster for the Under-17 Men's National Team Residency Program. Congratulations, Corey!
…10 traveled with the team to Zagreb, Croatia, in May. DeAndre Robinson, Corey Baird, Wesley Wade and Tyler Turner all scored for the United States…
We learned a bit more about the upcoming trip to Spain and France. They will be gone October 10th to the 30th, spending two weeks in Spain and another week in France. 22 of the 32 boys will be traveling, so no guarantees… Regardless, Corey will get an opportunity to come how for a few days immediately after the boys return from Europe.
Unfortunately, for me, I'll be in Germany while Corey comes to San Diego. I'm still holding out hope that I might be able to leave early and meet them in Paris to see the boys train/play and spend a little time with Corey.
Three weeks was enough for Margie and me. We really needed to see Corey's face, talk to him for longer than 15 minutes, and get a better feel for how things were going in Bradenton.
The weekend we dropped Corey off, we were running around so quickly that it was difficult to get a good feel for how Corey would adapt. We had confidence that he'd do fine and talked with him regularly over the past couple of weeks, but seeing him for a couple of days, hearing (and seeing!) how he was doing, and spending some time with a few of his friends and roommates made a huge difference.
We arrived late Friday night and went to see the boys play the Clearwater Chargers on Saturday morning. The team was split and one half played the Under-18 academy team; the other half played the Under-16s. The conditions were extremely hot (90+ and very humid).
In the first match, Corey started and his team played well, mostly dominated, and earned a well-deserved 1-0 win. Nice goal, Rubio! In the second match, the boys struggled in the first half and fell behind 0-2, but stormed back in the second half to win 3-2.
We had a great lunch with Corey afterwards. Margie took a bit of time to recover from the heat, but Corey shared a lot of details about the past few weeks, and "seeing Corey's face" was so valuable.
Saturday night, we took Corey out for dinner with a couple of his roommates: Danya and BJ. It was a very nice dinner with three very nice young men. Another feel-good moment for Margie and me: Corey is hanging out with some very good boys.
On Sunday, we'd hoped to watch the Manchester United vs Chelsea match, but Corey was late for strength training during the previous week.The penalty: doing dishes for lunch on Sunday. So, instead, we waited for Corey to finish his penance, then Corey spent several hours with us on Sunday afternoon, doing some needed shopping and having another very nice meal with our boy.
In some ways, the trip reminded us how much we miss spending time with Corey on a daily basis, but it was pure chicken soup for our souls the entire weekend. I'm sure we'll continue to miss Corey greatly, but he's doing well and remains a great kid. It'll hold us over for a few more weeks, hopefully!
Margie and I took a large number of pictures this weekend. Residency Visit Pictures
Well, we left our son on other side of the country today… Tough for both Margie and me, as you might imagine.
What an incredible opportunity for Corey! While we were in England, Corey was invited by US Soccer to participate in the Under-17 Men’s National Team Residency Program. Corey's been focused on getting this invitation for a couple of years, and it finally arrived. After discussing the reasons to attend or to stay in San Diego, we decided to give it a try for a semester. To extend this for two or more semesters, Corey knows that he needs to make his coach happy on the soccer field and his parents happy in the classroom. At the very least, it will be an interesting several months.
Our weekend was a whirlwind! We took a red-eye flight on Friday evening to get to Bradenton on Saturday. We made it to Bradenton by around noon on Saturday and met Tim, Sam ("Pugs"), and Ryan. These are the guys that are going to make sure that Corey life stays in order: Tim and Sam for US Soccer and Ryan does his part for IMG Academy.
We learned which room Corey would be staying in. Corey is staying in the Forwards Room, with many of his veteran BNT teammates: Rubio and B.J. share their room with Corey, while Danya and DeAndre are in the front room of their suite. Plenty of room for the five boys. Two interesting points here:
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First, Corey has been classified as a forward for the U-17s, a bit of a change since we've always considered him a midfielder. In retrospect, Corey's been playing the outside mid or winger position for most of the past year, so it's not that big of a departure.
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Second, they room the boys by position. Goalkeepers, Defenders, Midfielders, and Forwards all room with teammates playing the same position.
Below are some pictures of Corey's living room and his bedroom. He claimed the bottom bunk when we arrived, but he's switched to the top bunk since.
Most of Saturday was spent getting Corey registered at IMG Academies and buying all of the things that you need to live on your own. In so many ways, getting Corey ready to join residency was the same as getting Ryan ready for college: buying sheets, towels, laundry and bathroom supplies, school binders and notebooks, and lots of last-minute advice about living on your own!
We all stayed at the Holiday Inn at Sarasota on Saturday night and enjoyed meeting some of the other parents in the hotel bar that evening. And of course, the boys hung out as well.
On Sunday, we had two orientations: one for the Residency program and the other for Saint Stephen's School. Some interesting notes:
Residency
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Wilmer Cabrerra is the head coach. He played for the Columbian national team for several years and competed in the 1990 and 1998 World Cup; he’s been the head coach for the Under-17 Residency program since 2007.
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Wilmer gave a very good introduction to the program, talked a lot about how caring for the kids in the absence of their parents wasn't lost on them.
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The staff for the residency program includes three coaches, two trainers, one equipment guy, and two administrators.
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Wilmer really emphasized that soccer is a lifestyle and that they need to focus their lives around carrying themselves as soccer players, eating like soccer players, working hard at school to enable their soccer aspirations, etc.
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The Residency program gets criticism for not creating more superstars, but it’s clearly a solid route for aspiring players: 55% played in college and 42% played professionally.
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The schedule is packed:
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Strength and conditioning on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings
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Practice five days a week in the morning
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School five days a week in the afternoon
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Study hall on Tuesdays and Thursday after dinner
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Matches or a sixth practice on Saturdays
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Nutrition is an area of focus
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In October, they are taking a 2-3 week trip to Spain and France. Only 20-22 of the 33 boys will travel.
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During the first week of December, they will compete in the Nike International Cup in Sarasota.
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They will play Brazil, France, and Turkey. This event is held at the same time and location as the Development Academy Winter Showcase.
Saint Stephens Episcopal School
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The Saint Stephens program is specially designed for the Residency Program.
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The school itself is a well-rated college prep school, not much different from Corey’s school in San Diego, Cathedral Catholic HS.
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There are four class blocks in the afternoon, allowing the boys to rotate around the four core subjects: math, science, English, and history.
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Corey is taking Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Chemistry, English 10, and US History.
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With soccer being an additional, fifth credit, he’s still going to need to catch up before graduating in three years.
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They also have an advisory period each day to discuss any issues the boys are having. Corey’s advisory teacher, Mr. Allen, and his wife, who is also the IT guru at St. Stephens, come to most of the Saturday matches or practices. Very cool!
Interesting Links
Not surprisingly, Margie also took a healthy number of pictures. Taking Corey to Bradenton
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