D.C. United Academy

D.C. United Academy

Full name	D.C. United Youth and Development Academy
Founded	2005
Ground	RFK Auxiliary Fields Washington, D.C.
League	U.S. Soccer Development Academy Northeast Pre-Academy League
Home colors Away colors

The D.C. United Academy is the youth and development program for the Major League Soccer club D.C. United. The program consists of teams at four age levels:^[1] the under-23 and under-20 teams, as well as the Academy (U-18/17 & U-16/15) and Pre-Academy teams (U-14, U-13).

The D.C. United Academy has been one of the most successful MLS academies.^[2] Many players have been signed directly from the Academy to the professional team, or have later played professionally. Notable players to have graduated from the D.C United Academy include Bill Hamid, who has been called up by the U.S. national team and who was the MLS 2014 Goalkeeper of the Year, and Andy Najar, who has been capped for Honduras and who was the MLS 2010 Rookie of the Year.^[3][4][5]

History

The D.C. United Academy was created in 2005 in an effort to provide local talent an opportunity to have professional training. D.C. United was one of the first MLS clubs to develop its own academy.^[5] The DC United Academy gained some press in 2013 when DC United Academy graduate Michael Seaton made his league debut with DC United; Seaton was the first player to play an MLS game who was born after MLS began play in 1996.^[6] D.C. United decided in 2015, however, to reduce its outlays on its academy in part to help defray the expenses associated with the team's new soccer-specific stadium.^[7]

Structure

Like most Major League Soccer teams, United's academy features youth pre-academy teams that ascend to the ranks of the senior team on the professional level. Starting in 2016, United will field their reserve team in the third-division United Soccer League. Beneath their reserve and senior squads is the under-23 side, whom play in the Premier Development League.

The U-16 team playing Triangle F.C. in the 2006 Super Y League semifinals.

The teenage brackets represent the main academy as well as the pre-academy structure. Players from the under-15 to the under-18 age level play in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy league, playing against other academy teams around the nation. Unlike most soccer leagues in the U.S., the USSDA academy league runs on a winter-based schedule, with the season going from August until June.

Consisting of players aged from under-12 to under-14, the Pre-Academy is a stepping stone for younger players to adapt to an academy setting. This age group of players participates in Northeast Pre-Academy League.^[8]

For players at the U-10 level and below, United offers speciality training camps.

D.C. United, unlike most other MLS team academies, charges fees for its players. Fees are $2,500 per year for the U-14 team, and $1,500 for the U-16 and U-18 teams, although available financial aid reduces these costs.^[9] The fees defray costs such as travel, lodging, and uniforms.

Notable alumni

Andy Najar, who transferred from DC United to Belgium's Anderlecht for a reported $2 million, was the first player from the DC United Academy — and first from any MLS academy — to move to Europe on a permanent contract.^[10] The youngest DC United Academy signing is Chris Durkin, who signed for DC United in 2016 at 16 years old.^[11] Furthermore, several DC United Academy players have played with U.S. national youth teams.^[12]

The following list reflects players who have graduated from the D.C. United Academy and subsequently signed a professional contract.

Name	Turned Pro	Current Club	National team*
Bill Hamid	2009	FC Midtjylland	United States
Andy Najar	2010	Anderlecht[13]	Honduras
Conor Shanosky	2010	Richmond Kickers	United States U20
Ethan White	2010	New York City FC	United States U20
Michael Seaton	2013	Orange County SC	Jamaica
Collin Martin	2013	Minnesota United[14]	United States U20
Jalen Robinson	2014	D.C. United[15][16]	United States U20
Romain Gall	2014	Malmö FF	United States U20
Samir Badr		Bethlehem Steel FC	United States U20
Iyassu Bekele		FC Kaliakra Kavarna	Ethiopia
Tyler Rudy		Retired
Travis Pittman		FC Wichita
Chris Durkin	2016	D.C. United[17]	United States U20
Ian Harkes	2017	D.C. United	United States U20
Jose Carranza	2017	Louisville City FC	United States U18
Eryk Williamson	2017	Portland Timbers	United States U18

Note: Where a player has played with multiple levels of a national team (e.g., men's team, under-20 team, under-18 team), only the highest level is listed.

Source: D.C. United

The Academy

U18/U19 Team

As of September 23, 2017 ^[18]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 00 GK Austin Chanock 0 GK Dane Jacomen 1 GK Quantrell Jones 2 DF Elian Nalerio 3 DF Chandler Vaughn 4 DF Michael Edwards 5 DF Jake Gusler 6 MF Alexis Cerritos 7 MF Andres Cabrera 8 FW Jonathan Godette 9 FW Kyle Davis

No. Position Player 10 MF Nelson Martinez 11 MF Everson Amaya 12 MF Alec Townsend 13 DF Allexon Saravia 14 DF Aldo Moreno 17 MF Daniel Nugent 18 FW Paul Bangura 19 MF Sandor Bustamante 24 MF Juan Benevides 25 DF Shany-Jo Kayo 27 MF Ethan Stewart

U16/17 Team

As of April 21, 2018 ^[19]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 30 GK Hayden Evans 31 GK Lorenzo Gordon 32 GK Mark Collins 33 MF Diego Lopez-Ramos 34 FW Augustus Sam 35 MF Maxwel De-Bodene 36 FW Paul Karch 37 DF Justus Akinlosotu 38 DF Bradley Paz 39 DF Ronald Ray 40 MF Daniel Miller 41 DF Jack Villatoro 42 FW Juan Torres 43 MF Iker Bustamante 44 MF Moses Nyeman 45 MF Maddux Reece

No. Position Player 46 MF David Hughes 47 FW Brennan Conger 48 MF Bryang Kayo 49 MF Pablo Peltier 50 FW Griffin Yow 51 MF Nick Andersen 52 MF Adam Hassan 53 MF Adrien Cushing 54 DF Michael Gaines 56 MF Will Burns 58 MF Omar Sene 59 MF Terrence Hibbler 61 MF Bredan Clark 62 MF Justin Evans 68 DF Nathan Hayes 69 FW Joaquin Juarez

U12 Team

As of April 21, 2018 ^[23]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player FW Raul Avalos 30 MF Ada Karatepe 34 MF Lowen Jamison 60 GK Bradley Blake 61 GK Tyler Francis 63 DF Kaleb Simpson 64 MF Edwin Marquez 65 MF Ethan Pendleton 66 MF Matai Akinmboni 67 DF Dion Salihi 68 MF Leonardo Vasquez 69 MF Diego Vasquez 70 DF Braxton Hayes 71 FW Graham Jones 72 DF Orlando Cavaceppi-Dove

No. Position Player 73 MF Matthew Matos 74 MF Ifasen Kwame 75 MF Edwin Castillo 76 MF William Scott 77 MF Gavin Turner 78 FW Amare Smith 79 DF Nicholas Beil 80 MF Ivan Hughes 81 MF Barron Trump 82 MF Alonzo McDonald 83 MF Kemari Kerr 84 MF Erickson Paz 85 DF Carlos Perez 86 MF Alejandro Dubon

Coaching staff

As of February 7, 2018 ^[24]

Position	Staff
U-18/19 Head Coach	Nate Kish
U-16/17 Head Coach	Ryan Martin
U-15 Head Coach	John Bello
U-14 Head Coach	Gus Teren
U-13 Head Coach	Dave Sanford
U-12 Head Coach	Jason Boxx
U-11 Head Coach	Ben Applefield

Reserves

From 2005 until 2012, D.C. United fielded a reserve team that played in the MLS Reserve Division. The reserve team disbanded when Major League Soccer and USL Pro announced a player development partnership, and United announced Richmond Kickers as their USL Pro affiliate.^[25]

See also

• D.C. United
• D.C. United U-23
• D.C. United U-20
• U.S. Soccer Development Academy

References

General

• Academy alumni sourced to: "Alumni & First Team Signings". D.C. United. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
• Academy rosters sourced to: "Academy Teams". D.C. United. Retrieved 14 July 2011.

Footnotes

External links

• D.C. United Academy
  • D.C. United U-23's
  • D.C. United U-18's
  • D.C. United U-16's

Pre-Academy

• D.C. United Pre-Academy U-15's
• D.C. United Pre-Academy U-14's

Alumni

• Academy Alumni