Boulder County Force U16 and U17 Red soccer players, Aaron De La Cruz, Jeff Hirsch, Jose Moreno, Angelo Rieder, Curtis Steyck are playing for the Colorado Rapids U17s at  the SUM U-17 Cup. Also invited as an assistant guest coach with the Colorado Rapids U-17 is Boulder County Force Director of Operations,  Hardy Kalisher.

The SUM U-17 Cup, kicks off on Friday, July 4 at the soccer complex at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. The tournament features 14 Major League Soccer sponsored U-17 Youth Development teams and will culminate with the championship game being played on Thursday, July 10.

Follow the tournament details here: http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/events/sum_u17/

The 14-team pool is comprised of the U-17 academy teams sponsored by MLS clubs. The 14 teams will compete in a round robin group phase, with the four group winners advancing to the semifinals. The champion will take home the coveted SUM U-17 Cup and earns the opportunity to participate in the 2009 Trofeo Quixote U-17 tournament hosted by Real Madrid in Madrid, Spain. The second place team will gain entry into the prestigious Super Group in the 2009 Dallas Cup youth tournament in Frisco, Texas. The losing semifinalists will participate in the Dallas Cup U-19 group. The Trofeo Quixote and Dallas Cup Super Group feature only the world’s best youth teams.

"I’m very proud of the Force boys.  It’s great to see them being invited to play with the Colorado Rapids U17s this summer. The Rapids and the Force share a common ’player development first’ coaching philosophy so I’m enthusiastic to see our boys in Rapids jerseys. Our U16 and U17 Red teams have been showcasing all year for college coaches but this is a real special opportunity for these boys to showcase in front of US and European professional team coaches as well as the college coaches, " explains Kalisher.

"There is a good deal of depth in talent at the Force in the 1991 and 1992 age groups as evident in the number of Force boys who made the final state ODP team and are off to the ODP Region IV Camp in Oregon. Of the five boys playing with the Rapids at this tournament, two of the players didn’t even participate in ODP this year. That’s a testiment to the quality player coming out of the Force program." 

Soccer United Marketing  will also use the tournament as a platform to exchange player development ideas with both domestic and international clubs. A series of seminars will be open to all participating coaches and players, including one hosted by Real Madrid Youth System Administration Director Alberto Moríñigo Díaz.

This tournament is being hosted at no cost to all participants as Soccer United Marketing covers the costs of player travel, accommodations and other tournament-related expenses. Soccer United Marketing is the marketing arm for Major League Soccer and the US National soccer teams.

The preliminary SUM U-17 Cup schedule is as follows with the first three rounds and all semi-final matches to be held in the complex adjacent to Dicks Sporting Goods Park.

Schedule

Friday, July 4
Rapids B vs. Toronto FC 4:00PM, field 24
Rapids A vs. DC United, 5:00PM, field 22

Saturday, July 5
Rapids B vs. Kansas City  5:30PM field 23
Rapids A vs. Chicago Fire 7:00PM field 24

Monday, July 7
Rapids B vs. New England, 4:00PM field 23
Rapids A vs. Houston, 4:00PM field 22

Tuesday, July 8
Consolation games at 8:30am and 10:00am
Semi Finals at 5:00PM and 7:30PM

Thursday, July 10
Final 9:00AM, Stadium

About the SUM U-17 Cup
As a part of the “Home Grown Initiative,” the SUM U-17 Cup will focus on player development while providing elite competition for those involved. Offering its participants a great opportunity for dedicated, elite soccer players to meet in a high-level playing environment, the SUM U-17 Cup is both challenging and rewarding for everyone involved.