There are a lot of benefits to playing in the Earthquakes Youth Academy, but competing in a match against first team players may just top them all.
Academy head coach Paul Holocher and his U-18 side did just that Monday evening as they squared off against a handful of first team players at the club’s training facility.
Playing 11-a-side for two 35-minute halves, the next generation mixed it up with the current generation of San Jose stars, an experience that the Academy uses as the ultimate development process during the early stages of their preseason.
“This is just a great opportunity for these young guys to be on the same field with these professionals,” Holocher said. “What a special treat that is. Just by being on the field with these guys, they’re learning about the level that it takes. It was an absolute pleasure to be out here today.
“There’s just so much to take away from these kind of experiences. First of all, it gives our players the opportunity to look how fit they are and how they work off the ball, their strength on the ball, their decisions on the ball and that they’re also on the field here and that they’re good young players. It teaches them that if they play smart, play intelligent, pass the ball well and defend well that they can do the same type of things.”
This is the second time in 2016 that the Academy has faced off against first team competition. On January 28, the Quakes kicked off their 2016 preseason campaign with a friendly against the U-18 Academy at Avaya Stadium in front of club season ticket holders.
One player reaping the benefits of playing first team competition is U-18 forward Arda Bulut. Entering his final season in the Academy system, Bulut hopes to continue his goal scoring form from 2016 after tallying 26 goals, the fourth most goals in the nation.
What better way to do that than to try and score against a professional defender?
“This is just an extra motivation for us,” Bulut said. “We can’t just sit back and relax during our preseason because we play in high-level matches like this. It’s just another opportunity for us to get better and perform at the highest level.
“It was a really good experience for us as a team because we really get to weigh ourselves up and see what it takes to get to the next level that we all want to play at. To see what those guys can do that we can’t do was really good for us.”
