The San Francisco Seals Youth Academy U17 Super Y team representing the Seals and the San Francisco United Soccer Club (SFUSC) will be attending the National Championship tournament next week in Tampa, Florida (November 17-21).

The Seals are among five newcomers to this year’s tournament, which include: Victoria United, D.C. United,  Seacoast United, Santa Cruz County Breakers, and the Seals.
 
“All of our emphasis this season went towards qualifying for the Super Y-League North American Finals,” said San Francisco United U17 Manager Mike Connelly. “We really like the club system USL provides. Stressing the importance on the season instead of smaller tournaments is the way to go.
 
The team opened the season with a loss to a strong Cal Odyssey team. “We were fighting from behind to qualify but the boys’ seemed to get better as the season wore on,” added Connelly.
 
Head Coach, Effrain Burgos felt the turning point in the season came after a month long break in the middle of the season. Many of the boys attended the prestigious Milk Cup tournament in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, where the boys had a good showing against competition made up of players vying for professional contracts. They played the youth sides of Premier League’s Sheffield United, County Antrim (Ireland), and national teams from Malta, Liechtenstein, and New Zealand. They ended up with a 2-3 record. 
 
“When we got back we had to win three of four Super Y-League games to qualify. The team had really jelled. All of a sudden the focus had shifted from the individual to the team. Qualifying was important to them and they ended up beating three of the best in Northern California – Santa Cruz, Cal Odyssey, and San Juan in consecutive games,” explained Connelly.
 
“I am very proud of the way the boys took care of the task at hand,”  said Burgos.  “Many of these players will end up playing at top level schools, and  are capable to contribute immediately.”

Tom Simpson, General Manager and Head Coach of the Seals PDL team notes that “We look to these kids to be future players with our Premier Development League team, and we hope to help them with their college career as well as help them play at a professional level if they’ve got the talent and desire. It’s exciting to see this youth team make it to the finals!”
 
The United Soccer Leagues have announced that the annual Fox Soccer Channel will broadcast Super Y-League North American U17 Final match. The match will kickoff at the Ed Radice Soccer Facility in Tampa at 7:00 PM on Saturday, November 18 as part of the U17 Group B pairing. Fox Soccer Channel will air the match at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, December 5th.

About the USL Super Y-League
The future of soccer lives in the USL Super Y-League, a professionalized system that is the first step for developing elite youth soccer players in North America. Affiliated with US Soccer and partnered with US Club Soccer, the league is designed for talented youth players destined for professional or international careers. The league contains the youth academies of USL First Division, USL Second Division, Premier Development League, W-League, and Major League Soccer clubs, as well as many of the established premier youth clubs. Through Olympic Development Program status events such as the North American Finals and National ODP Camps, the nation’s top players are identified for selection to US National Team Programs. The 2006 campaign features over 800 teams within the U13 – U17 boys and girls age groups competing within 10 geographic divisions of the U.S. and Canada.

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