Super Y-League News Release
Thursday, November 21, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. – The Super Y-League (SYL) is pleased to announce that its 2014 Boys and Girls Olympic Development Program (ODP) National Camps, presented by Nike, will be held in conjunction with IMG Academy’s 2014 IMG Cup College Showcases on the IMG campus in Bradenton, Florida. SYL ODP participants will have the opportunity to compete in the IMG Cup under the watchful eyes of college and youth national team scouts from throughout the country.
The 2014 SYL Boys ODP National Camp kicks off Thursday, February 27 and concludes Sunday, March 2, 2014, with the IMG Cup – Boys College Showcase running Friday-Sunday the same weekend. The SYL Girls ODP National Camp also runs concurrently with the IMG Cup – Girls College Showcase, March 6-9, 2014.
Past IMG Cup showcase events have attracted scouts from national college soccer powers such as Duke, Indiana, Wake Forest, Boston College, Akron, South Carolina, Georgetown, Maryland, Connecticut, Virginia Tech and Penn State, to name a few.
“This is a huge step for the Super Y-League ODP program and will add significantly to the exposure received by the 2014 camp participants,” said Natalie Akula, USL Senior Director, Youth Leagues & ODP. “Not only will the players receive top-level instruction from the ODP staff, they will have the chance to compete against some of the top teams in the country in front of college scouts from throughout the U.S.”
The ODP Program, which brings together top players from throughout the United States and Canada, is a crucial component of the Super Y-League, offering the best players from the U13 to U16 age groups a chance to receive top-quality coaching and the opportunity to be scouted by U.S. National Team and college coaches. This year’s ODP age groups will feature the top players from the U13/U14 and U15/U16 age divisions, and they will receive instruction from top college coaches as well as skills testing, mental conditioning and nutritional counseling from IMG Academy’s staff of experts.
IMG Academy is home to the U.S. Soccer U-17 Residency Program and site of the annual Super Y-League North American Finals. USL National Technical Director Peter Mellor, who has spent the past 20 years as a member of the U.S. National Staff and 27 years as an ODP coach, will direct the camps.
The world’s largest and most advanced multi-sport training and education complex, IMG Academy hosts a myriad of amateur and professional soccer events and camps each year. Recently, the campus has welcomed clubs such as the Seattle Sounders, Chicago Fire, D.C. United, Columbus Crew, and Sweden’s Malmö FF, as well as the U.S. Women’s National Team preparing for the London Olympic Games, and the Antigua & Barbuda Men’s National Team preparing for World Cup qualifying.