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Sunday, July 15
A.C. Milan Unveils Academy
By Luke Andrews
Signal Staff Writer
Sunday July 15, 2007
What a week it's been for soccer in Southern California.
One day after England superstar David Beckham dominated the sports landscape with his official introduction as the newest member of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Italy's A.C. Milan, one of the most successful soccer clubs in the world, officially unveiled its Milan USA Academy Saturday in Santa Clarita, one of just two like it in the United States.
"This is a historic moment for the city of Santa Clarita," said coach and organizer Lucas Bongarra. "It's a dream come true."
Nearly 100 people attended the introduction at the Santa Clarita Community Center, which included the display of A.C. Milan's seventh and most recent Champions League Trophy, which the team earned in May after a 2-1 victory over England's Liverpool.
It marked the first time the trophy has been out of Europe and in the United States.
"I got the chills," said Joe Mastroianni, a native of Italy, who attended with his wife Jaleen and 15-year old son Dante. "The magnitude, it's unbelievable. We're extremely fortunate to have it."
The trophy will also go to Miami, Fla. and New York.
"It was inspiring for the kids," said Linda Hill, who attended the event with her son Justin. "All the kids were touching it, kissing it. It was really a great experience. It encouraged them."
Fans had two opportunities Saturday to take photos with the trophy.
"That cup has been raised by some of the great soccer players in the world," said Eddie Marles, the A.C. Milan consulting executive for the U.S. and Latin America. "It's my pleasure to bring it here to Santa Clarita."
Currently the academy, which is also located in 45 other countries, has 150 players signed up to play on 14 teams in Santa Clarita under the prestigious A.C. Milan name.
Organizers hope to have 300 players after a three-day tryout beginning Monday at Hart High.
"The objective is to make this club one of the best in the country and we will absolutely reach that," Marles said.
The academy, led by former Italian professional Cristiano Scapolo, is open to boys U9 to U18 and girls U9 to U14.
"This is a perfect place (for the academy)," Scapolo said. "The kids in this part of the United States play maybe 10 months. We don't need to break for weather or cold. This is a great place, and there's a great potential for the kids."
The academy runs a season-long program and applies the same types of theories and practices used by the A.C. Milan team, nominated the world's best soccer club, according to Marles.
"It's extremely exciting," said Dennis Canevari, there with his son Ian. "Obviously with Beckham coming here, soccer's taken a strong hold. I grew up playing soccer 25 years ago and people used to look at me like 'what is soccer?' Now everybody's playing."
Saturday, July 14
MILAN SOCCER ACADEMY TO LAUNCH TODAY
Lucas Bongarra, coach of a boys soccer U18 and a girls soccer U17 team in Santa Clarita, has a player who has driven to Orange County twice a week for two years in order to receive top-notch training and competition.
"The only reason she's going there is because there's nothing that she can be exposed to at a high level of soccer in Santa Clarita," said Bongarra, a former player at The Master's College.
That won't be the case anymore.
Today, Italy's A.C. Milan, one of the most successful soccer clubs in the world and owner of seven Champions League trophies, will officially open the Milan USA Academy in Santa Clarita for boys and girls ages six through 17 in both recreational and developmental categories as well as a competitive travel team program.
There is only one other academy like it in the United States, the other located in Miami, Fla.
"It's huge," Bongarra said of the academy. "To have a club like A.C. Milan helping us in Santa Clarita and bringing in the program to Santa Clarita for the kids to play, it's unbelievable."
The academy's goal is to "develop healthy and well-structured individuals whether they're going to be professional players, high schools players or college players," said Eddie Marles, the A.C. Milan consulting executive for the U.S. and Latin America.
"That's the whole concept behind this, developing talent, developing youth, just to be better individuals and to help the environment," Marles said. "We hope to develop this club in the next three or four years into having international recognition."
The academy will provide the same type of training the actual A.C. Milan team receives, with consideration of the psychological, physical and technical aspects of each child.
"That's the great value of the program, it's been proven to work," Marles said. "We are the most successful club in the world because we implement these theories and applications and so we're transmitting that to the youth program. There's absolutely no doubt right now it's the most successful youth program in the U.S. by any professional soccer team."
The academy, based out of Hart High, also provides members the opportunity to possibly interact with A.C. Milan players and staff, according to the academy's Web site.
Total costs, including registration, are $1,680 per year.
"We're willing to jump on the project because what we're doing, no one else is," Bongarra said. "We're going to be working with a nutritionist, psychologist and a fitness trainer on top of the director of coaches."
The foundation for the academy was the Milan Junior Camp, which existed for three years in Santa Clarita.
"That was a stepping stone to this permanent program," Marles said. "It's been a three-year process, mainly introducing ourselves to the community."
There are currently 14 teams in the academy that will play in the 10,200-team Cal South League. The academy, led by Director of Coaches Cristiano Scapolo, a former Italian Serie A player, will also hold tryouts next Monday through Wednesday at Hart High.
There is an inauguration ceremony for the academy beginning today at 11:30 a.m. at the Santa Clarita Community Center, which includes a presentation and press conference as well as a speech from Santa Clarita Mayor Marsha McLean.
The ceremony also includes the display of AC Milan's most recent Champions Cup Trophy, which the team won in May after a 2-1 victory over England's Liverpool. Fans can view and take pictures with the trophy from Noon-2:45 p.m. and again at Frontier Toyota at 5 p.m.
It's the first time the trophy has left Europe and the first time it will be in the United States.
"It's a way for us to show our support to our fans who have supported us," Marles said. "We want to share our victories with them."
Sunday, July 15
MILAN SOCCER ACADEMY
NEWHALL - Ivy Emmons couldn't make out the words.
The West Ranch High junior stared at Nuncio Zaviettieri as he tried to coach a technique earlier this week. Emmons, 16, didn't understand. She doesn't speak Italian. Zaviettieri doesn't speak English. To get through, Zaviettieri relied on an international language: soccer.
But not just any type of soccer.
Zaviettieri showed Emmons how to complete a first-touch pass, AC Milan style. That's Italian Serie A club AC Milan, the reigning UEFA Champions League champion.
Emmons, a starting defender on the West Ranch girls' soccer team, is one of a handful of local young soccer players who are taking advantage of the Italian club's youth academies in the United States during the high school offseason.
AC Milan brought its youth programs to this side of the Atlantic Ocean with an academy at Hart High in Newhall.
AC Milan North American representative Eddie Marles said the club decided to bring its soccer to Southern California because of the caliber of young athletes in the area and Hart's hospitality with previous camps. The AC Milan USA Academy at Hart will be the second to open during a news conference 11:30 a.m. today at the
Santa Clarita Community Center.
The first academy opened in Miami this week.
The public will get a chance to see the UEFA Champions League trophy today.
"That's my prize for working out here," Marles said. "I sleep with it. It has a GPS microchip to serve as a tracking devise."
AC Milan, who clinched its seventh Champions League title with a 2-1 win against English club Liverpool in the European club tournament final in May, had set up summer camps at Hart the past three years, including one earlier this week, before deciding to commit year-round academies in the U.S.
The timing couldn't have been better. Cristiano Scapolo, a 37-year-old former AC Milan assistant coach and first division Italian player, moved to San Diego from Italy eight months ago after marrying an American woman. He was a perfect match in the club's eyes. He was appointed as director of coaches of the academy.
"The coaches here are authentic," said David Alegria, a 16-year-old senior at Saugus who has played varsity soccer for the Centurions the past three seasons. "They're straight from Italy, Mexico, not from the U.S., where there's not much passion for soccer. You can feel the passion and everything they teach I can apply during high school season."
But the academy has more to offer than just soccer and a place to learn a new language.
"Some of these kids have problems at home and don't know about other things that come with being a soccer player," said Lucas Bongarra, the academy's vice president. "We not only provide soccer coaches but a psychologist and a nutritionist. We assess these kids the same way the main club assesses its players in Italy with a series of tests that are sent to the club's labs."
Registration is open to athletes ages 5 to 17. Teams will compete against local travel clubs under the California Youth Soccer Association's (Cal South Soccer) regulations. The same coaches running the academy will conduct a camp in Glendale next week.
Friday, June 29
MAGIC/RIPTIDE TO MAKE CHANGES FOR 2007/08
Riptide will be making a club switch for the 2007/08 season. They have joined the Milan Soccer Academy in Santa Clarita, Ca.
They will be participating in the G17 Silver Elite North division in the upcoming season.
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