WhiteCaps Residency off to Japan

[Guest Ed]

More good competition for the youngsters.

http://www.whitecapsfc.com/archive/feature12030801.aspx

Residency off to the Far East

Joe Martin (left), Thomas Niendorf (centre), and Steve Meadley (right) will lead Whitecaps Residency on their five-match tour of Japan.

December 3, 2008

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency, an elite youth player program, will embark on a trip to Japan from December 4 to 15, 2008. The 12-day tour will include five friendly matches against some of the top youth teams in Japanese soccer.

Whitecaps Residency begin their schedule of friendly matches versus Takigawa Kobe on Sunday, December 7, before facing the U-18 side of Japanese J.League Division One (J1) club Vissel Kobe on Monday, December 8. On Wednesday, December 10, the squad will face the U-18 team from J1 club Kyoto Sanga before taking on Gamba Osaka U-18's on Thursday, December 11. Gamba Osaka's senior team, who also compete in J1, won the 2008 Asian Champions League title last month and will take part in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup tournament in Japan. The Residency team will then complete their schedule on Saturday, December 13, when they play Himeji Club.

"It's going to be an interesting experience to see how our development program compares with well-run and sophisticated development programs that the J.League clubs currently have in place," said Residency head coach/managing director Thomas Niendorf. "The J.League is doing a great job of bringing young players through their system, and we are trying to build and accomplish similar goals here with our Residency program and the Whitecaps men's team. These teams will be in good shape, so this trip will be very challenging, but also a good development opportunity for our players. It will also help in the identification of work that we will have to do with the players after Christmas."

Included in Niendorf's squad for the Far East trip are four players that have recently returned from training camps with Canada's U-17 and U-20 men's national teams. Kevin Cobby, Coulton Jackson, and Russell Teibert were in Mexico for a five-match tour with the U-17 squad, while striker Randy Edwini-Bonsu was involved with the U-20 national team's recent two-match camp in Switzerland.

Ethan Gage is also included in the squad, with the defender/midfielder bringing invaluable experience to the team after his performances with the Whitecaps men's team during their run to the 2008 USL First Division championship title back in October. Four first-year Residency players – Jack Cubbon, Bobby Jhutty, Julien Latendresse-Levesque, and Sahil Sandhu – will be embarking on their first overseas trip with the team since joining the program.

"Instead of bringing in a whole new group of players this year, we are now working in a cycle where we allow players to be part of our program for two years," Niendorf said of the Residency's second year of existence. "We have a number of returning players that appeared in our men's team this past season, and to compliment that group, we have selected some top players from our recruiting process who were born in 1991 and 1992."

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency is based out of the Whitecaps Training Centre at Simon Fraser University (SFU), with a number of the players attending Burnaby Central Secondary School.

The elite youth program – for players from U-17 to U-19 – provides a development gateway through to professional opportunities with the Whitecaps men’s team and European clubs. The program uses the European club model of identification, development and placement.

Whitecaps Residency and the Whitecaps youth prospects programs are committed to cooperation and communication with the provincial and Canadian national team programs. Each player's professional commitments, education, club, and national or provincial team responsibilities are carefully considered and coordinated for optimal periodization