In this All Nations Cup preview of the United States team we learn that John Crouch has been working hard with Jason Gjertsen and Adam Becker to assemble a team that they can be proud of and that exemplifies the strength of players they have at their finger tips in the Pacific Northwest.
by John Crouch, United States ANC Team
Last year John Callaway received this charter at the last minute and did what he could to assemble a team but the team was stopped by Mexico and England from moving on in the second weekend. Their talent pool was strong but they struggled with player scheduling conflicts and consistency as this tournament is a huge time commitment and requires the players to take it seriously and show up with preparation under their belts!
This year we worked with conviction to build a team (with short notice and a bunch of new players) that would be strong and go far as the USA is always expected to do in this tournament. We’ve brought in players from different parts of the Puget Sound area but are primarily based out of the South Sound. We’ve required a strong commitment level to the tournament and the team, to keep from losing players over the course of the tournament. South Sound FC (https://www.facebook.com/pages/South-Sound-Football-Club/116711251677688) holds the charter for Team USA and is led by John Crouch, Jason Gjertsen and Adam Becker, with some administrative assistance from John Callaway.
In preparation for the All Nations we’ve had our guys together for some trainings, the Celebration Tournament at Starfire and a friendly with Italy. We are happy with the players we’ve put together and feel that we have a mature group of guys that can move the ball well and lead with patience on the field along with a nice mix of young players that will deliver the speed and hunger to control the game. We did well in the Celebration Cup at Starfire over the July 4th weekend but not well enough to make the final, we were beat by our one of our own (Jeff Bader- South Sound Footballer) on a long throw in to score Englands’ only goal to beat us 1-0 and advance them to the Final. In 3 games we allowed 3 goals but just needed to find a way to finish all the opportunities we had. The team met with Italy in a friendly last week and really started to gel, our players had seen each other work enough and really found their stride with a really strong attack that started from the back and possession that would excite any coach or spectator. We beat the Italian squad 5-0 over the course of 30 minutes and we were able to move players around to see where they’d fit once the Cup starts.
We are enjoying a nice mix of players and feel that we’ve built a squad that we believe will do our country proud. The best part about this group is that everyone is really excited to have been playing together already and to hit the pitch together.
We will be in attendance for the opening ceremonies at 7pm in the stadium at Stafire on Friday July 15th and will roll right into our opening game at 8pm against Japan. We will be wearing Team USA all whites, special thanks to the http://www.ussoccerstore.com/ for the support on purchasing these great kits! Also thanks to the Tacoma Soccer Center and Doyles Public House and Jameson for their support getting this charter together and helping on the financial side of things. Team USA is held by the South Sound FC (a non-profit organization founded in 2009 out of Tacoma WA) and we’d love any financial support or sponsorship leads to help build our program.
Please come out and wish our team luck as we embark on a new journey for Team USA at the 2011 All Nations Cup, we play Friday at 7pm in the Stadium at Starfire against Japan, 12 noon Sat July 16 v Guatemala (the number 2 seed- this is a big game for us), and against Poland Sunday July 17 at 9:30 AM. For more schedule info click here- http://anc.teamcowboy.com/schedule. This tournament expects to see tens of thousands of people over the 3 weekends of its games from over 40 different countries. Thanks for your support.
Go Team USA!