MILWAUKEE, Wisc.  (Feb. 15, 2010) – The attendees for US Club Soccer’s upcoming id2 National Training Camp comprising female players born in 1994, 1995 and 1996 as part of the organization’s national player identification and development program were released today. Of the approximately 60 players invited to the camp, approximately half of the players (all in the 1994 age group) were identified through scouting performed by the ECNL Player Identification Program. In addition to providing the scouting resources for identification of these players, the ECNL will be subsidizing the cost of attendance at the camp for these players – providing a fantastic developmental experience at no charge to the invited players. The camp will take place in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from February 26 through March 1, 2010, at Vista Park.

The ECNL Player Identification Program was launched in December in order to identify the top players competing in the ECNL through a scouting process that was at no cost to the players, allowed them to be scouted in their regular training environment, and did not add to the calendar congestion faced by these players.

“Every member club in the ECNL plays an important role in the ECNL Player Identification Program,” according to ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken. “Every ECNL club provides scouting resources to the ECNL for ECNL competitions, and the coaches within the ECNL provide recommendations and referrals regarding players they train and those that they compete against.”
“We have tried to create a process where the thoughts, opinions, and recommendations of hundreds of club coaches throughout the country can be easily obtained and then organized in one place,” said ECNL President Christian Lavers. “These are the people that train the players every day, that see them competing against the best on a regular basis, and that know their personalities best. Combining this information with that from independent scouts is the best way to minimize the chances that any player with national-level ability is missed.”

Sean Nahas, Director of Scouting for the ECNL Player Identification Program, provided more insight on the program:

“Eventually, we hope to develop the infrastructure to track these players over time – so that we will know the current form of the players, and so the development of the player through the year can be observed,” Nahas said.
Based on feedback from US Soccer regarding the age groups currently of most interest at a national level, the ECNL Player Identification Program focused on the 1994 birth year in 2009. This is the first event featuring players scouted through the ECNL Player Identification Program.