Billed as one of the most prestigious youth tournaments in the World, The IBER CUP hosted the top academies in Spain again this year.
The NextGen USA U10 Select Squad traveled to Portugal June 28th – July 2nd and were crowned champions of the Prestigious Iber Cup Tournament in Estoril.
Of the fourteen players selected from NextGen programs four were born in 2007. The NextGen Squad was made up of the following playing : Brent Adu – Gyamfi – North Chesterfield, VA. Alex Babol – Guelph, Ontario CA , Ian Charles (2007)– McLean , VA. Gabriel Cossio- Fairfax, VA. Dylan Falcone – Hammonton, NJ. Connor Frykholm – Haddonfield , NJ. Aaron Heard – Fairfax, VA. Aaron Hurge ( 2007 ) – Bethesda , MD. Caleb Lackner ( 2007 ) – Perry Hall, MD. , Ian Marquez ( 2007 ) – Vorhees, NJ. Francesco Mattucci – Perry Hall , MD. Campbell Reese – Richmond, VA. Anthony Topolski – Middle River , MD. and Henry Weston – Mendham, NJ.
“Playing with NextGen at The Iber Cup was a great experience for me to grow as a player because when we had the ball I had to think quicker and make very good decisions. One of the reasons I feel we had success on the field is because of the sacrifices we made off the field such as no fried foods, taking ice baths in
the ocean to recover our muscles, and drinking protein shakes.”
– Anthony Topolski
The Team was coached By Tony Williams and Scott Middlemass. Tony Williams, NextGen’s Director of Youth Development said, “The boys were magnificent. On the field the boys demonstrated promising quality and impressive character while playing in a passionate Portuguese tournament atmosphere. Off the field the boys showed tremendous responsibility and maturity. In order for our most promising young players in the U.S. to reach their potential we must provide them with inspirational learning environments that ae developmentally challenging. International experiences like this will hopefully better prepare players for potential consideration for the U14 National Development Program in the future.”
To accelerate the development of the players responsibility NextGen parents are not allowed to travel or stay with players but did enjoy watching their sons play in the tournament matches. “Sending our son to the Iber Cup in Portugal with NextGen USA was one of the best experiences we have ever given him. Not only did he get to play with and against incredible players, he learned life lessons about responsibility, accountability and teamwork that will help him in school and life moving forward. The team coaches, managers and support staff cared deeply about the boys and our son came back a better player and stronger young man from this amazing experience.”
To Nominate players for NextGen USA email Tony Williams tony@nextgenusa.org
