Returning players:
The D.C. United Academy youth teams will be able to count on several returning players for next season. The Under 16 squad will see Yaw Amankwa, Dallas Aminzadeh, Sam Bradley, Lester Dewee, Emile Doak, Tobi Iguade, Steve Mashinski, Myles McGinley, Mauricio Navarrete, Kennedy O'Shea, Eric Valladares and Dominick Yin all returning, while three players from the Under 15 Developmental Training Program - Nick Njuki, Phillip Nwosu and Joe Wilkins - were selected to join the team.
Returning to play with the Under 18 team are Stefan Berkeley, Junior Bioh, Michael Burgos, Ricky Burke, Stefone Coburn, Shane Cooke, Peabo Doue, Marcus Douglas, Michael Funes, Chris Hegngi, Kevin McBride, Sean Murnane, Daniel Rice, Ryan Runion, Paul Torres and Ethan White.
The D.C. United Academy pre-season will begin mid to late September with the official Academy match schedule slated to start on November 15. D.C. United will participate in the US Soccer Development Academy season while also competing in several showcases and tournaments throughout the year. This year the youth program will be fully funded and players who make the U16 and U18 Academy rosters will not have any fees associated with the Academy.
Youth Team Tryouts: The Academy continues to hold tryouts for the Under 16 and Under 18 teams through August 28 at the RFK Auxiliary Turf Field. However, the Thursday, August 21 tryouts have been canceled.
Tryouts will be held every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. ET for the Under 16 team and from 6:30-8:00 p.m. ET for the Under 18 team. Players trying out for the U16s must have been born on or after January 1992, while the cutoff date for U18s is January 1990.
All players must bring a Youth Teams Waiver and Registration form to tryouts with them, which can be found online at www.dcunited.com. For more information, please contact Ned Brockmeyer at (202) 587-5498 or via email at nbrockmeyer@dcunited.com.
