Academy footballers competing in USA Cup
Academy players and coaches ahead of travelling to Minnesota for the USA Cup
(CNS): Academy Sports Club is in Blaine, Minnesota to compete in the 32nd Schwan’s USA Cup, the largest football tournament in the western hemisphere. The tournament, which is running through 23 July, features 1,178 teams from 19 states within the US and 19 countries. Academy has four teams participating in the Cup, and has travelled to Minnesota to compete in the tournament every year since 2010.
In addition to the US and the Cayman Islands, the countries represented are Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Haiti, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Panama, Puerto Rico, Sweden and Uganda.
Participating players from Academy range from 8-15 years old and are all looking perform as successfully as previous teams where their U-12 and U-13 squads were named champions in their divisions.
Academy has three teams playing their first matches today (19 July). The U-15 boys will play Ela Elite from Illinois, the U-13 squad is up against CC United from Minnesota, and the U-11 group will face Minnesota opponent Rebels SC.
Travelling with the 51 players are coaches Paul Byles, Logan Seymour, Christian Cartagena, Peter Reijn and head coach Virgil Seymour, who said that he is looking forward to the club’s annual tradition of participating in the USA Cup.
“Every year it is a great experience and learning opportunity for our players,” he said. “I know that this year will be no different as the boys have been training hard in preparation for the tournament.”
Part of that preparation came from the recent U-14 and U-15 Cayman Airways Invitational Youth Cups, which featured teams from the US, UK, and Jamaica. “International experience is vital, especially at such a young age,” said Byles. “The type of exposure that the players get at these tournaments is irreplaceable.”
