Kempin to Play with US U-18 Team

Today on Twitter, Jon Kempin said that he'd be heading to Israel on the 10th to play with the US U-18 team in a set of friendlies. The US team is set to play Israel, France, and Germany while in Israel. First though, Kempin is going to be in Arizona this weekend as part of the Juniors in the US Soccer Developmental Academy Winter Showcase in Arizona. Both the U16 and the U18 Juniors teams will be competing in the tournament. Both teams start the weekend against the New York Cosmos East Academy tomorrow. Saturday they both play South Central Premier of Connecticut and finish their weekend on Monday against the New England Revolution's academy team.

Home Grown Player Restrictions Lifted

Some good news tonight for the expanded roster and MLS teams' youth development. It looks like MLS is set to remove the home grown player restrictions. Currently teams are allowed to sign 2 players each year. The new rule will remove all those restrictions. This now becomes a huge way to build your roster. Now if a team has multiple players in their youth system ready to move up to the first team they don't have to choose which two they want to prompt in one year. Now team's need to start really turning out the young players. The Wizards will need to step up their development as well. For example, Dallas has already prompted 4 players from their youth system. The biggest success so far has been Andy Najar with DC, the winner of the rookie of the year award this year. The Wizards already have prompted one player, Jon Kempin and could conceivably promote more next year. So the likes of Jordan Rideout and Konner Knoll could be called up to the first team next year if they the team chooses. It certainly gives the team more opportunity to have control of their own destiny in player development.

Wizards Sign Kempin

Today the Wizards announced their first homegrown player signing, goalkeeper, Jon Kempin. Kempin today signed a Generation Adidas contract with the Wizards and will now join the Wizards roster. He won't take up one of the team's 24 roster spots, instead he'll occupy one of two "homegrown" slots on the roster, giving the Wizards the ability to have 25 players on the team currently. In the end Kempin was likely the favorite to be signed due to his experience with the US U-18 national team. He's been called into the U-17 residency program in Florida and is still a member of the U18 player pool for the United States. Barring major injury issues to both Jimmy Nielsen and Eric Kronberg, I do not expect to see Kempin in net and probably not even on the bench this year for the Wizards. I don't see this becoming a like the Bill Hamid situation in DC. But in the end you never know. Congrats to Jon on this big even in his life and to the Wizards on keeping a local kid in town to play with his home team.

Wizards to Announce First Homegrown Player Tomorrow

Tomorrow the Wizards will announce their very first homegrown player from the Wizards Juniors team. Robb Heineman mentioned over the weekend that they hoped to announce their first homegrown player this week and tomorrow it's going to happen. The Wizards join a growing list of MLS teams that have promoted homegrown players to the senior team.

The question still remains on who is the signing going to be. One would assume it's one of Jon Kempin, Konner Knoll, or Jordan Rideout, the three players that trained with the first team earlier this season. Kempin is a goalkeeper that has been in camp with US youth teams. Rideout is the son of former Wizards forward Paul Rideout. Knoll is the one I know the least about, he's a defender from the Wichita area. It's hard to know exactly who it will be. Part of me leans towards Kempin or Rideout, but another part of me thinks it'll be Knoll in a surprise. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Wizards set to Sign First Homegrown Player

According to Robb Heineman a few minutes ago on Twitter, the Wizards are hoping to sign their first homegrown player to a contract this coming week. The Wizards would join a growing list of MLS teams that are starting to use the extra roster spots provided for those homegrown players. Just this week, Chivas USA and Toronto FC have signed homegrown players joining LA, DC, Dallas, Houston, and New York as teams that have signed homegrown players (although Chivas was already on that list before their latest signing).

Presumably the signing would be one of the three Wizards Juniors players that trained with the first team a few weeks ago. Either goalkeeper Jon Kempin, defender Konner Knoll, or forward Jordan Rideout appear set to become the Wizards first homegrown signing. I haven't seen any of the players play so I don't know who it really will be.

Heineman also said in the Tweet that their goal is to have 6 homegrown players on the team by 2013. An ambitious goal, but one the Wizards could certainly reach if the development at the Juniors level continues.

Three Juniors to Train with First Team

Some MLS teams are starting to take advantage of the new home grown player rule. Some very successfully (Andy Najar of DC has been very good this season). The Wizards have not brought up any of their Junior players as yet, but 3 are now going to get the chance to at least train with the first team. A sign that maybe the Wizards see a future in these players. The three players are goalkeeper Jon Kempin, defender Konner Knoll, and forward Jordan Rideout. The three players played with the Juniors U15-16 team last year. They're moving up to the U17-18 team next year.

Kempin is probably the most high profile of the 3, having been involved with the US U17 and U18 national teams. He's also won his fair share of awards in high school and club play. Rideout is the son of former Wizards forward Paul Rideout, who is also one of the Juniors' coaches. Of the 3, Knoll is the one I know the least about, he's from the Wichita area. This is a great opportunity for the 3 and hopefully is the start of more of this for the Wizards.

Wizards News

Here's some information that likely isn't really needing it's own thread, but some things that I want to touch on real quick.

First, the Wizards Juniors were in North Carolina this past weekend for the group phase of the US Soccer Developmental Academy playoffs. The Juniors started the weekend on Friday night when they took on the Baltimore Bays. After taking the lead early, the Juniors missed a PK, then conceded 2 goals to lose to the top seeded Bays 2-1. Saturday night the Juniors took on the Dallas Texans in their second group game. Jordy Rideout scored the lone goal, his second of the weekend as they defeated the Texans 1-0. Today the Juniors defeated Chivas USA's team 2-0 on goals by Lucas Throckmorton and Derek Schrick. Unfortunately the Bays took care of the Texans to advance as the group winner. You can see the final group standings here. Congrats to the Juniors on a strong season and finishing second in their group even though they were the "32nd and final" team in.

In more news from the senior team, word from Thad at The Back Post in a post on Bigsoccer, Thad posted that Stephane Auvray is now no longer an international player. Auvray apparently now has his green card. This along with the Igor Kostrov/Jamar Beasley moves early this season currently gives the Wizards two international spots that they can use on players including a DP and the other non-DP that Thad has mentioned previously. Whether the Wizards now use these two spots is still up in the air.

Finally, for those that missed it last Saturday I made a post about the Wizards being turned down by Montenegrin defender, Milan Jovanovic who currently plays for Rapid Vienna. Later that same day, Robb Heineman tweeted back to me that he had never heard of the guy. Can't say I'm extremely disappointed about that. While Jovanovic is an international defender, and the Wizards could definitely use some help on the back line, the Wizards should be able to pick up someone else.

2010 U-17 SUM Cup

The 2010 version of the U-17 SUM Cup will be held this year in Houston, TX in conjunction with the MLS All Star Game against Manchester United. Once again the Wizards Juniors will be competing in the tournament. This year, the Wizards Juniors have been grouped in Group D. KC will play the LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, and New York in their group. Below is a list of the 4 groups, in order of their seed based on the balls chosen. Good luck to the Juniors both in the US Developmental Academy playoffs and in the upcoming SUM Cup.

Group A
DC
Chicago
Colorado
San Jose

Group B
Dallas
Seattle
Columbus
Philadelphia

Group C
New England
Chivas
Houston
Toronto

Group D
LA
Kansas City
Real Salt Lake
New York

Wizards Juniors Qualify for Playoffs

In their first season in the USSF Developmental Academy, the Wizards U-16 Juniors team has qualified for the developmental academy playoffs. The Juniors finished with an 8-2-8 record to qualify as a wild card, also qualifying from their division was Real Colorado and the Chicago Fire. The Juniors will play in the group play of the playoffs June 25th through 29th in North Carolina. If they qualify as one of the top 8 teams in the age group, they will move on to LA where the quarters, semis, and finals will be held July 9th through the 17th.

Remember Today

Remember today is a triple header of KC vs Chicago out at Community America today. The 3 games starts with the U-16 Wizards Juniors taking on the U-16 Fire Juniors. Following that is the main event, the Wizards vs Fire game that is also going to be on FSC. Pregame starts at 7pm on FSC and they want fans to be behind the FSC stand that will be on the party deck in right field. The night finishes with the "Win and You're In" US Open Cup Qualifier between KC Athletics and AAC Eagles. The Athletics team, as pointed out in the article, has a few players whose names should be familiar to Wizards fans. Included on the roster are former Wizards Boris Pardo and Brian Roberts. Also on the roster is Geoff Miles who trialed with the Wizards. The team is also made up of a lot of former KC Legends players.

Saturday is Now a Triple Header

Over the weekend, we found out that the Wizards-Fire game this weekend would be a double header. Today we find out that it's in fact a triple header. Along with the 7:30 start time for the Wizards-Fire game, and the 9:45 start time for KC Athletics vs AAC Eagles the Wizards U-16 Juniors team will take on the Chicago Fire Juniors U-16 team in a US Soccer Developmental Academy league game. Fans can go to all 3 games with a ticket to the Wizards-Fire game and will be able to go in and back out after the Juniors game. It's a chance for Wizards fans to see US U-18 roster player, Jon Kempin in goal for the U-16 Juniors team.

Kempin Called into US Camp

The US U-18 National team started a camp out in Los Angeles and one of the Wizards' Juniors players and a former Wizard were among those invited. Jon Kempin, goalkeeper for the Wizards' Juniors' U-16 team is one of two goalkeepers invited to the camp, along with Keith Cardona of the Red Bulls' academy. Also invited was former Wizard, Luis Gil, who is currently with Salt Lake. The camp started on Sunday and will continue through Sunday May 2nd out at the Home Depot Center. The team will also attend the LA Galaxy vs Philadelphia Union game on Saturday night.

Changes to Roster Rules

MLS has added two more players to teams' rosters, those two players though have to be home grown players, meaning they have to come from the team's youth system. The plan of the development is to push teams to develop their own players more. The first 18-20 senior roster players will count against the cap and make a minimum of $40,000 a year. Teams then have 4-6 protected players, these players can be Generation Adidas, or earning the minimum salary of $40,000. Two of these 6 potential spots though are reserved for home grown players. Meaning to get to the 26 roster mark, you have to have two home grown players on the roster.

To help continue the development, instead of the regular transfer rules the clubs get 75% of a transfer or loan deal of a home grown player. That's up from 66% that clubs get for regular players. The rules also change for GA players. GA players with 1 year in MLS, the club only gets 33%. Two years, the club and league split 50-50. Three years and clubs get the standard 66%.

What does this mean for the Wizards? I honestly don't think it means much currently. I don't think there are currently players in the Juniors system that are close to being ready to step up to the pro game. Meaning the Wizards will likely be sticking with the 24 man roster, not able to use those 2 extra spots. There may be some good college players that could eventually step up to the pro game, but I don't think there's anyone right now. The closest in the older groups may be Jon Kempin, who is playing on the 16's. Kempin was Kansas State High School boys soccer player of the year as a junior this past year and has spent time with the US U-17 national team. Unfortunately I don't think he's going to be quite ready for the pro game either. We'll have to see what happens though, but hopefully soon the Wizards we see the Juniors start to develop players that can be brought into the first team.

Juniors Weekend in Phoenix

The Wizards Juniors finished out their weekend in Phoenix for the US Developmental Academy Winter Showcase with a decent record. The Juniors two teams went a combined 2-1-3. The 16's recorded both of the Juniors wins, beating Seaside United 1-0 and the Richmond Kickers 2-0 before falling to Real So Cal 1-0 in their final game. The 18's got 3 draws on the weekend, getting a 0-0 draw with Seaside United, a 3-3 draw with Richmond, and a 1-1 draw with Crossfire Premier.

Juniors U16 goalkeeper Jon Kempin, who at one time was with the US U-17 team was named to one of the "Academy Select Teams". Those 8 teams will be made up of 130 players from different teams from the developmental academy, selected by youth national team coaches and U.S. Soccer’s youth national team scouting network. Kempin was the only Wizards Junior player to be named to the teams and was one of 28 players from MLS teams selected to the 8 teams.

Juniors News

The KC Wizards Juniors opened their play in the US Soccer Developmental Academy today outside Houston, as the 16's and 18's both took on Texas Rush AJ Auxerre. Both the 16's and the 18's came away with 1 goal wins over their Texas counterparts. The 16's took took their game against the Rush 1-0. Meanwhile, the 18's twice came from a goal down to win their game 3-2 over the Rush side. Both teams play again tomorrow against Texas SC DTH. They open their home season on the 29th against St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro.

Also coming up, the Juniors will make a trip down to Phoenix with the rest of the Developmental Academy teams from around the country for the Winter Showcase December 4th through the 8th. The 18's will play Seacoast United out of New Hampshire on the 4th, the Richmond Kickers out of Virginia on the 6th, and Crossfire Premier out of Washington on the 7th. The 16's will also take on Seacoast United and the Richmond Kickers, but will play Real So Cal out of California on the 7th.

Wizards Juniors Season Starting Soon

For those wanting to keep up with the potential future of the Kansas City Wizards, the Wizards Juniors U18 and U16 teams are getting ready to kick off their first season in the US Soccer Development Academy. The season runs from November to May. Both teams begin their season on the road down in Texas on the 21st of this month. They'll be taking on Texas Rush AJ Auxerre. The following day, both Juniors teams will take on Texas SC DTH. The first home game for the Juniors will be November 29th out at the Swope Training Complex when they'll host fellow Frontier Division member St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro.

Juniors Win Final Youth Cup Game

The Wizards Juniors team pulled off a win in their final game in Colorado as part of the MLS Youth Cup. The Juniors defeated the Colorado Rapids Juniors team 5-1 yesterday. For a full recap of the tournament, check out the Rapids official blog, Undercurrent.

Juniors Struggle

The Wizards Juniors have struggled at this year's addition of the MLS Youth Cup. According to posters on bigsoccer, the Juniors lost all 3 group games (the only team to lose all 3 games). The Juniors lost their opening game on July 4th to Houston 2-0. In their second game, the Juniors lost to FC Dallas 6-2 (FC Dallas is in the Championship game of the tournament). In their final group game, the Juniors lost 1-0 to DC United (United also made the tournament finals). The Juniors will now play Chicago tomorrow in one of the consolation games.

MLS Youth Cup Starts

The MLS Youth Cup starts today out in Colorado. The Wizards Juniors are competing in the tournament again this year. Their first game is today, and like the first team, the game is against the Houston Dynamo at 11:30. The team's second game is tomorrow evening against FC Dallas. The Juniors close out their group play games against DC United on Tuesday. No matter where the Juniors finish in their group, they'll play a game on Wednesday as well.

No Regional Title for Juniors

With the SuperLiga and US game yesterday, it slipped my mind about 2 Juniors teams playing in the regional finals. Unfortunately, neither team was able to pull off the win this year. Both the U-13 and U-16 Juniors ended up falling 1-0 in their regional finals against the Michigan Wolves and Campton United Navy respectively. Congratulations to all the Juniors on good seasons.