From Pittsburgh Riverhounds Media Release:
Two RDA Boys’ teams to compete in 2016 after May tryouts
PITTSBURGH (March 11, 2016) – The Riverhounds Development Academy will return to Super Y League play this year with teams at the Under-12 and U-14 Boys’ brackets.
Two RDA teams competed in the Super Y League’s Mid-Atlantic Division last year. Coach Niko Katic led his U-15s to December’s national finals at the IMG Academy complex in Bradenton, Florida after racking up an 8-1 record during the regular season.
The Riverhounds will draw upon players born between 2002 and 2005 for the two teams to align with the Super Y League’s implementation of birth year cutoffs for the 2016 season. Players will be identified during upcoming tryouts for RDA teams to be held in May.
“Our approach to Super Y will be entirely geared toward individual player advancement,” said Riverhounds director of youth development Jason Kutney. “We’ll be looking to challenge the boys by asking them to play among older players as well as those that they do not consistently work with in weekly training.”
RDA staff will manage games and minutes played to ensure that all eligible players participate in a balanced fashion. The club also expects this to mitigate summer vacation plans for families.
The Super Y League started in 1999 and has grown to include over 100 clubs competing in regionalized divisions from the Midwest and Canada to the Southeast United States. It includes academy teams from Major League Soccer, United Soccer League and USL Premier Development League teams.
Hounds defender Anthony Harding was selected to the Super Y’s Region I National Pool at Under-15/16 last year with Jacob Adams gaining similar recognition at the U-13/14 level. Harding has since been invited to the inaugural USL Experience eventtaking place in Cincinnati next month as one of the top 18 players in his age group during the 2015 Super Y League season.
Tryouts for RDA teams will be announced shortly. Information will be sent to current RDA families regarding the appropriate age group for the child in light of changes to age classification guidelines set out by U.S. Youth Soccer and U.S. Club Soccer.