February 26, 2010 - Across the country, high level Development Academy games have marked a turning point in referee development. Prior to the inception of the program, referees often had to travel hours each way, every weekend, to obtain the number of games required to advance up the ladder.

February 19. 2010 - With stints as an assistant coach during the 2002 FIFA World Cup and head coach of U.S. U-18 Men’s National Team, George Gelnovatch has been involved with soccer in the U.S. since his playing days at the University of Virginia under Bruce Arena.

February 12, 2010 - Still a few weeks shy of his 17th birthday, Miguel Lopez is one of the youngest players on his Lonestar Aztex U-17/18 Development Academy team, but you’d never know it. Lopez has been playing alongside older teammates for as long as he can remember.

February 5, 2009 - The Seattle Sounders FC have announced a partnership with Washington Premier FC that will see the first Sounders youth teams participate in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy beginning in the 2010-11 season.

February 5, 2005 - Walking out of a first-class locker room, through the tunnel, up the ramp and onto a perfectly manicured pitch in a 27,000-seat stadium is a dream come true for most youth soccer players – or any young athlete for that matter. For the Los Angeles Galaxy and Pateadores Development Academy teams, that dream became a reality on Jan. 31, as both the U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups played matches in The Home Depot Center stadium in front of 500 fans.

January 28, 2010 - Keeping in line with recent January tradition, the U.S. Men’s National Team rounded out a three-week training camp at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center with a match against Honduras on Jan. 23 at The Home Depot Center. During the training camp, head coach Bob Bradley led 30 players through the rigors of the international level, and last week, he opened a training session to 26 Development Academy coaches from across the West Conference.

Jan. 21, 2010 – The Sarasota Polo Club in Sarasota, Fla., will host the 2010 Development Academy Spring Showcase from May 28-June 1, and Bryan Park in Greensboro, N.C., will once again be the home of the Development Academy Playoffs from June 25-29.

January 7, 2010 - Seth Casiple, a midfielder on newly-formed club California Development Academy, had never considered himself to be on the youth national team radar. Just a few games into his team’s first season as part of U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy, he found out just how quickly a player could rise in the ranks.

December 21. 2009 - A year ago, Dillon Powers wasn’t spending much time wondering if he would be in Egypt in nine months. While he knew the African country was the location for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, he figured his chances of actually being named to the USA’s roster were slim at best considering he hadn’t been in with a national team since an Under-15 Boys’ National Team camp nearly four years earlier.

December 9, 2009 - After five days spent across 18 fields at the Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix, the 2009 Development Academy Winter Showcase and International Friendlies have come to a close. All 77 Academy teams, plus four Under-17 international teams, played three games over the course of the extended weekend, testing their everyday preparation. Every game between Academy teams at the Winter Showcase counts toward the season standings, which will determine the final 12 teams with the best points per game that will advance to the 2010 playoffs.

December 8, 2009 - As games at the 2009 Development Academy Winter Showcase continue through Tuesday, teams have tested their everyday preparation against other Academy clubs from across the country in inter-conference matchups.

December 7, 2009 – The Development Academy Winter Showcase continued on Sunday with 46 matches played at the Reach 11 Sports Complex, including the night’s featured match which pitted two Academy Select Teams against each other under the lights on the international field.

December 6, 2009 – Day two of the 2009 Development Academy Winter Showcase came to an end yesterday at the Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix with thousands of athletes and coaches having incorporated countless hours of team training into the overall Academy theme of Everyday Environment.

December 5, 2009 - As the 2009 Development Academy Winter Showcase gets underway, the overall theme for the year is in full effect, as Everyday Training is being incorporated into player and coaching education surrounding games as well as in the matches themselves.

December 3, 2009 - The 2009 Development Academy Winter Showcase and Nike International Friendlies are set for Dec. 4-8 at the Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix, Ariz. All 154 teams representing 77 Development Academy clubs will participate in 234 games during the extended weekend, while six Under-17 international matches will highlight Friday, Saturday and Monday. The Winter Showcase will incorporate the overall theme for the Development Academy’s 2009-10 season, the Every Day Environment. The Every Day theme, which includes individual training, team training, off field routines and games, will be highlighted throughout the weekend in video content featuring members of the Men’s National Team and youth national team coaches, and player education opportunities found inside the Players Lounge. For the complete 2009 Winter Showcase schedule, click here.

November 17, 2009 – The 2009 Development Academy Winter Showcase and Nike International Friendlies are set for Dec. 4-8 at the Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix, Ariz. All 154 teams representing 77 Development Academy clubs will participate in 234 games during the extended weekend, while six Under-17 international matches will highlight Friday, Saturday and Monday.

November 10, 2010 - As he does before every practice, Giovanni Savarese stood quietly by the team as they warmed up. Observing the players jogging from end to end, the Met Oval Under-17/18 head coach was quite impressed with the athletes in front of him.

November 5, 2009 - While the USA’s journey through the FIFA U-17 World Cup has come to a close, the Development Academy definitely left its mark in Nigeria. Seven players on the World Cup roster, including two regular starters, were members of the Academy program. Keith Cardona, Spencer Richey, Jared Watts, Nick Palodichuk, John Agudelo, Victor Chavez and Dominick Sarle all participated in the Academy Program from 2007-09 before moving to the U-17 Residency Program.

Oct. 23, 2009 – U.S. Soccer has selected 163 participants for the 2009-10 Development Academy Scholarship Program. The athletes represent 53 different Academy clubs and will participate in a year-long program that will not only help offset the costs of participating in the Academy, but will also focus on educating athletes on healthy lifestyle habits.

October 12, 2009 - Former U.S. Soccer Development Academy goalkeeper Bill Hamid, who played for the D.C. United Academy and spent time with the U.S. Under-18 and U.S. U-20 MNTs, was invited to train with the U.S. Men’s National Team on Sunday and Monday. It’s a practice that’s common when the Men’s National Team holds training camp. Local goalkeepers, usually from an area professional team will often provide their shotstopping services for a session or two (it never hurts to have an extra person willing to throw themselves in front of a 30-yard piledriver). After manning the nets for the U-17/18 Academy team that compiled a 20-4-5 record and was a finalist at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Finals Week, Hamid joined the D.C. United first team in a signing announced at a press conference before the 2009 U.S. Open Cup Final. Hamid took time after training to answer a few short questions for ussoccer.com.

October 16, 2010 - On Sept. 19th, 2009, Houston Dynamo kicked off their first Academy games at the University of Houston Carl Lewis Complex. The U-15/16 game and U-17/18 Academy games flanked the Houston Dynamo First Team game that evening.

October 5, 2009 – U.S. Soccer Development Academy clubs were introduced to SPARQ Training during the first two years of the Academy program, and this year will integrate SPARQ Self-Testing into their training regimen.

Sept. 3, 2009 – U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy program will kick off the third year of the program this weekend with an increased focus on improving the everyday environment of youth soccer in the United States and improving the overall development of the more than 4,000 players, 600 coaches and 900 referees participating in the program.