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Riley Tanner of our U13 Girls Gold team was this week invited to participate in the Super Y League National ODP camp. After a very successful showing in the 2012 Super Y league National Championships, Riley’s ‘00 Girls team finished runners up losing 2-0 in the finals to FC America of Florida. Riley was one of the top performers on the team throughout the league and the tournament, and has been rewarded with the invite to the National Training Camp in February. The training camp is made up of the top players from every age group selected from the national tournament and will be ran by national team staff, collegiate coaches, and W-league coaches. Riley’s coach Lewis Robinson said about Riley, “She deserves this credit as she works unbelievably hard at her game and is very committed to the sport. Riley is a young player who you will see at our fields everyday training with a smile on her face. She is an exciting attacking player who can have a huge impact on the result of a game and create goals against any competition.”

Our U13 Girls gold team also recently qualified for the Midwest Regional League this spring after a great showing in their first premier season. The team will be attending the prestigious Annandale tournament in Virginia in March before getting their MRL season underway in April. The ’00 Girls will then be competing for the Michigan State Cup, and after winning last year's Junior Michigan State Championship, this young group of talented girls will hope to continue their winning ways.

Good luck to Riley in her ODP success and to the ’00 Girls Gold team this spring.

The tryout process started in August 2011 with Michigan ODP, it then moved onto the regional pool, and after weeks of training and selections, only18 players were selected to represent Region 2 in the interregional national event last week. The GR Crew Juniors were represented by two of our long time players Peter Brown and Jared Timmer. Both have played for the Crew since the club was founded and were a part of the 2012 U15 State Championship winning team.

The interregional camp was hosted at the IGM Academy in Bradenton FL and consisted of games between the 4 regional teams made up of the nation’s top talent. The games were played in front of a host of top college coaches and national team staff. Both players started, played every minute in all three games, and represented Region 2 very well with Timmer being named to the All-Star team of 11 named at the end of the event.

Both boys had nothing but positive feedback about the event, and also their training experiences so far with the Crew.

Peter Brown is a central defender who has played for the crew since 2007 and spoke of his experience, “The event was great, there was great soccer all around us with the u17 national team squads playing alongside us, we were able to learn a lot from these games. I am very thankful to all of my Crew coaches for pushing me, and also my crew team for pushing me in practices and games to become a better player”.

Jared Timmer captained the Region 2 team throughout the tournament also spoke very highly of the event and his development with the GR Crew Juniors, “It was a honor and a privilege when I got the invite to represent Michigan ODP, Region 2, and most importantly my Crew family down at the IMG Interregional event. My experiences with the Crew have helped me play at the level that was needed to against the other regions."

The boys are now back in Grand Rapids, and back to training with their U16 Gold team in preparation to defend their state championship this spring, and traveling to the Disney Showcase this month.

Well done to both players and good luck in the future!

Maddie Myers of our U13 Girls Gold team has been selected to participate in the US Youth Soccer girls ODP National Training Camp in Pheonix. Maddie was one of the 19 players from Region II selected to travel to Pheonix AZ and join the National Training Camp.

Maddie has played with the GRCJ for the last 5 years since she joined us as a U9. She played under several of our top coaches and has always been very committed to training. She currently plays for Lewis Robinson on our ’00 Girls team. “Maddie is a top young player who can play a number of positions and can win a game for her team. She is a player with a great desire for the game, and is always looking to train and play every day to improve. Her making the ODP National Pool is a direct reward of all of her hard work and commitment to training,” says Coach Robinson.

The camp will be held on the last week in January.

Congratulations to Maddie from all at GR Crew Juniors.

Brittany Tanner

Michaela Kovacs

In April 2012, Michaela Kovacs and Brittany Tanner were named to the ’97 State ODP team. At Regional Camp in July both girls were named to the ODP Region 2 Regional Pool.

In September 2012, Michaela was chosen to play on the Region 2 ODP team in the Interregional Thanksgiving Tournament in Boca Fl. She will train and compete in front of college coaches and the US Soccer National Staff, and will be evaluated for future opportunities at National Training Camps and other National Tournaments.

Congratulations to Caitlin Bergsma of the Girls U12 Black team on being selected to the 2001 ODP Pool!

Over the week-end of August 4-5, 2012, several of our U12 Girls tried out for and were selected to the ODP state pool.  Congratulations to Lindsey Vandermeer, Ashley Ward, Maddie Gryzbek, Macy Wierenga, Stephanie Currie, Macy Hollingsworth, Danika Austin and Ryee Michaels for making the state 00/01 State Pool. The work begins now to keep your spot. You have made your coach, team and club very proud.
 

Lauren Cannon has been moved from the 2011 Michigan ODP player pool to the ’96 Michigan ODP State Team. She will be participating in the Regional Tournament in July.

After many years of club soccer, four State Championships, two Regional Championships, four National Tournament appearances, four National League appearances, and one National Championship, our ’94 Boys are half way through their last year of Crew soccer. The boys have just won the U18 National League with a 100% record and are getting closer to taking the next step of their careers into college. Of the group of players that played with this team, twelve of them are already committed to play college soccer. This is a fantastic achievement for any team, and one that as a club we are very proud of.

The team was coached by Remco Bergsma from U14-U17 and Lewis Robinson at U18, and has consistently been ranked amongst the top five teams in the nation in the last few years. This team is a great story with all but one or two of the boys being local West Michigan players. This team has been playing great soccer for years and they have always had an expectation and a level that is higher than most you will see in West Michigan.

The ’94 team has always had a very high training commitment and participated in many of the top tournaments in the nation such as the Disney Showcase and Blue Chip Showcase, always competing and achieving success at these events. The team’s commitment and hard work was paid off in 2011 when they won a US Club Soccer National Championship, being the first West Michigan team to achieve this. The success on the field allowed for all of the team to have opportunities to play college soccer. We are very proud as a club to see these boys move on and take the next step in their lives pursuing a college degree, and pleased that so many of them will be able to continue playing soccer at the next level. This is a testament to all of the team’s hard work, parental support, and the environment the club has provided.

Below is a detailed list of all players from our ’94 team and where they will be going after graduation. Huge congratulations go to all of the boys, a big thank you to all of the parents of the group for their continued support, and we look forward to following your college careers and continuing our relationship as our graduating class of 2012. Good luck to the boys this spring in their U18 season and hopefully adding to their list of achievements this year!

Left to right: Eli Appleby, Ryan Scott, Ryan Selk, Willie Bennick

Four West Michigan players participated on the Michigan Boys 1995 ODP team that won the National ODP Championship.  This was accomplished the week-end of March 9-11, 2012, in Dallas Texas by defeating the previous champions Virginia ODP team by a score of 1-0.  Congratulations to Eli Appleby (Vardar preacademy), Ryan Scott (U16 Crew Jrs), Ryal Selk (U16 Ole), and Willie Bennick (U17 Crew Jrs). 

More information, photos, and video can be found at the following link:
http://www.higher-impact.com/ODP95Boys/

We would like to officially congratulate all of our U18G Gold team and thank them for being part of the Crew family for such a long time. We wish them the best of luck as they continue to play their soccer careers in College. The team, coached by Marc Frankland, is proud to boast that 11 of their current roster of 16 players have accepted positions on college teams for fall 2011. This is a fantastic achievement; here is where they are going:

Annie Hamilton - Wheaton College, IL - DIII
Charlotte Socia - Grand Valley State University, MI - DII
Emily Cowan - Cleveland State University, OH - DI
Hailey Yondo - Bowling Green State University, OH - DI
Kelly Wilson - St Mary’s College, IN - DIII
Lindsey Arnett - Saginaw Valley State University, MI - DII
Mara Bennett - Lewis University, IL - DII
Meghan Sokolowski - Grand Valley State University, MI - DII
Mel Hogan - Aquinas College, MI - NAIA
Micaela DeVos - Illinois State University, IL - DI
Sydney Benda - Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), GA - NAIA

Again, good luck in the future, we will miss you all!!

Bailey McCarthy and ODP Coach Bryan Thorpe

On March 13, Bailey McCarthy was named to the MSYSA U-12 Olympic Development Team for Michigan.  Bailey will be training until July then will travel to Kansas for additional training and the Regional tournament. Top players have the opportunity to be chosen to play on Regional teams and National teams throughout the year.

Bailey plays goalkeeper for the GR Crew Juniors U12 Black team under coach Joey Barone. Bailey also plays on the U13 Black Premier team for coach Marc Frankland. Bailey has trained locally with Annie Steinlege, who plays at MSU, and with Mike Braid at Shoreline Sport and Spine. MSU Goakkeeper Avery Steinlege has also provided training opportunities. Bailey lives in Spring Lake Township and is a 6th grader at Spring Lake Intermediate School.

We are proud to announce that Kosti Moni received another invitation to join the USA U-14 National team camp in California. The camp will take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA from May 1st - 8th. This is a outstanding achievement and a great source of inspiration for all young Crew players. We are certain that he will represent Grand Rapids Crew Juniors, Coach Moni, team and his family with pride and dignity.

We wish Kosti the best of luck in the present and future endeavors.