Super Y-League Feature
Saturday, February 23, 2013
BRADENTON, Fla. – Southern Soccer Academy’s Andrew Carleton may be the youngest of the 160 boys gathered at IMG Academy this weekend for the Super Y-League Boys ODP National Camp, but he might also be one of the most experienced.
Only a couple of weeks removed from an 11-day trial with reigning English Premier League champion Manchester City’s youth academy, Carleton, 12, is fitting right in with his older teammates as he takes the opportunity to absorb as much as he can. A U12 All-Tournament Team selection at the Super Y Finals in December, Carleton said the roster of assembled coaches have helped him settle in.
“At first I didn’t feel like I had any friends because I only knew one or two people here, but everybody’s been good and the coaches have been great and showing me around,” Carleton said. “Practices have been really good. They’ve done it well so in the morning you’re not going so hard so in the game you have your full energy and you’re ready to play.”
One familiar face who has helped Carleton feel comfortable at the camp is Southern Soccer Academy Director of Soccer Steve Gummer, who is one of the many experienced coaches leading the players through their paces.
“I think the level of play progressively over the last couple of years has gotten better and I think the league does a fantastic job in the summer,” Gummer said. “It’s great to see the kids from different parts of the country meshing well together in this three- or four-day environment. There are some good players with a lot of future in the game.”
Gummer said Carleton is a special player with a bright future.
“He used to play up but we brought him back down to his age group a year or two ago. We like to play through all departments and our team is built to play through him,” Gummer said. “He has that kind of role where he affects the game. When Andrew plays well the team plays well.”
SSA, which has also joined USL’s Next Generation Series for 2013, has three alumni currently playing in MLS including the Philadelphia Union’s Jack McInerney, and Gummer sees no reason why Carleton won’t reach similar heights.
“He works tremendously hard and for us he’s one of our complete players because he’s got a little of everything,” he said. “He’s very good technically, his work rate is fantastic and for a player that’s 12 years of age he understands the game really well. With his vision, he does things on the field that make me think we’ll see him on TV some day.
“It’s great for the kids to have opportunities in this country, certainly with USL and MLS and then any opportunities in Europe are what we’d like to push for. Obviously they have to be good enough, but we’ve had a good success rate over the last four or five years. We’ve put a lot of players in college as well but we’re quite proud of the fact that we’ve got three or four who are playing in the professional ranks.”
Carleton’s opportunity with Manchester City saw him train with the club’s 13-14 academy team and play in a game against the Blackburn Rovers academy. He also got a chance to see City’s superstars in action.
“I had a great time meeting all the new players and hanging out with them, and the facilities were excellent,” Carleton said. “We got to see the first team play and the speed of play was really good. They pass really fast and their touch was really good. I learned to play one step quicker because that one step can be the difference in scoring a goal or getting a goal scored against you.”
Gummer said it’s possible we could hear more about Andrew Carleton and Manchester City in the future.
“It was an experience kind of thing but I think Manchester City are quite interested in him and all we hear is real good reports from them.”