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Off to Bradenton

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.

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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:

  • 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.
  • 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.

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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.

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On Sunday, we had two orientations: one for the Residency program and the other for Saint Stephen's School. Some interesting notes:

Residency

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • The staff for the residency program includes three coaches, two trainers, one equipment guy, and two administrators.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • The schedule is packed:
    • Strength and conditioning on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings
    • Practice five days a week in the morning
    • School five days a week in the afternoon
    • Study hall on Tuesdays and Thursday after dinner
    • Matches or a sixth practice on Saturdays
  • Nutrition is an area of focus
    • More vegetables!
    • Hydration assessments
    • Trying to create a lifestyle rather than forcing them to eat well
  • In October, they are taking a 2-3 week trip to Spain and France. Only 20-22 of the 33 boys will travel.
  • During the first week of December, they will compete in the Nike International Cup in Sarasota.
  • 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

  • The Saint Stephens program is specially designed for the Residency Program.
  • The school itself is a well-rated college prep school, not much different from Corey’s school in San Diego, Cathedral Catholic HS.
  • There are four class blocks in the afternoon, allowing the boys to rotate around the four core subjects: math, science, English, and history.
  • Corey is taking Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Chemistry, English 10, and US History.
  • With soccer being an additional, fifth credit, he’s still going to need to catch up before graduating in three years.
  • 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