Sacramento is one of the best-kept secrets in American soccer.
Sure, Sacramento Republic FC gained national attention when 20,231 fans crammed into Hughes Stadium to shatter USL attendance records during the club’s inaugural season. And before that, the Sacramento Knights were smashing indoor soccer attendance records of their own from 1993 to 2001. The city has also been a constant top ten TV market for the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cup since the early 90s.
But here’s the catch: Attendance and a rabid soccer fanbase aren’t the only things that make Sacramento an ideal soccer city and capital. It’s a region crammed with talented players and a virtually untapped player development stronghold.
“We don’t get enough credit, Sacramento, in terms of what talented people have come out of the area,” said Republic FC Vice President of Football Administration Kevin Goldthwaite, who is also a retired MLS player. “If you look across the board, there’s quite a few guys who have had successful careers in MLS.”
Sacramento is one of the best-kept secrets in American soccer.
Sure, Sacramento Republic FC gained national attention when 20,231 fans crammed into Hughes Stadium to shatter USL attendance records during the club’s inaugural season. And before that, the Sacramento Knights were smashing indoor soccer attendance records of their own from 1993 to 2001. The city has also been a constant top ten TV market for the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cup since the early 90s.
But here’s the catch: Attendance and a rabid soccer fanbase aren’t the only things that make Sacramento an ideal soccer city and capital. It’s a region crammed with talented players and a virtually untapped player development stronghold.
“We don’t get enough credit, Sacramento, in terms of what talented people have come out of the area,” said Republic FC Vice President of Football Administration Kevin Goldthwaite, who is also a retired MLS player. “If you look across the board, there’s quite a few guys who have had successful careers in MLS.”
With the exception of densely populated areas like Los Angeles and New York, few regions have produced as many Major League Soccer players per capita than the four-county Sacramento region (Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado and Placer).
An expansive youth club system, weather that allows for year-round training combined with a plethora of nearby NCAA Division I men’s and women’s soccer programs, Sacramento provides the ideal training ground for youth player development.
In 2014, there were 162,297 youth players in Northern California registered with U.S. Youth Soccer alone. At the elite level, clubs such as San Juan Academy, FC Elk Grove, Placer United, Davis Legacy, Sacramento United and Union FC produce dozens of Division I men’s and women’s soccer players on a yearly basis.
The high concentration of youth clubs and the sport’s popularity has allowed youth development to thrive, in turn leading to hundreds of players from the region going on to play at the collegiate soccer level. As a result, the region has produced numerous notable professional soccer players.
In MLS’s brief 20-year history, several dozen players have made their way through the ranks of amateur, semi-professional and professional soccer to the top-league in the United States.
With the exception of densely populated areas like Los Angeles and New York, few regions have produced as many Major League Soccer players per capita than the four-county Sacramento region (Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado and Placer).
An expansive youth club system, weather that allows for year-round training combined with a plethora of nearby NCAA Division I men’s and women’s soccer programs, Sacramento provides the ideal training ground for youth player development.
In 2014, there were 162,297 youth players in Northern California registered with U.S. Youth Soccer alone. At the elite level, clubs such as San Juan Academy, FC Elk Grove, Placer United, Davis Legacy, Sacramento United and Union FC produce dozens of Division I men’s and women’s soccer players on a yearly basis.
The high concentration of youth clubs and the sport’s popularity has allowed youth development to thrive, in turn leading to hundreds of players from the region going on to play at the collegiate soccer level. As a result, the region has produced numerous notable professional soccer players.
In MLS’s brief 20-year history, several dozen players have made their way through the ranks of amateur, semi-professional and professional soccer to the top-league in the United States.
Players like Brian Johnson (Carmichael), Tayt Ianni (Lodi) and Guillermo Jara (Sacramento) were among MLS’s originals, playing alongside early superstars like Preki, Cobi Jones and Jorge Campos in the first seasons of MLS.
Then came players such as Rio Americano High School’s Sasha Victorine and Oakmont High School’s Ryan Suarez who were trailblazers for the region for their long careers in MLS, a league that was still in its infant stages when they began playing in the early 2000s.
Victorine, a former U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team member, had a nine-year career spanning over 100 appearances for both Los Angeles Galaxy and Kansas City Wizards before finishing his career with Chivas USA in 2009.
“I look at Ryan and Sasha as the guys that trailblazed and showed [guys like me from Sacramento] that road and how it was possible to get to MLS,” said Goldthwaite. “Then you had guys like Lee Morrison, John Jones, Taylor Graham, Scott Vallow and others not far behind them.”
Meanwhile, not one but two goalkeepers, DJ Countess and Steve Cronin (both Bella Vista High School graduates), were part of the inaugural U.S. Under-17 class at US Soccer’s Bradenton Residency program, IMG Academy, in 1999.
Players like Brian Johnson (Carmichael), Tayt Ianni (Lodi) and Guillermo Jara (Sacramento) were among MLS’s originals, playing alongside early superstars like Preki, Cobi Jones and Jorge Campos in the first seasons of MLS.
Then came players such as Rio Americano High School’s Sasha Victorine and Oakmont High School’s Ryan Suarez who were trailblazers for the region for their long careers in MLS, a league that was still in its infant stages when they began playing in the early 2000s.
Victorine, a former U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team member, had a nine-year career spanning over 100 appearances for both Los Angeles Galaxy and Kansas City Wizards before finishing his career with Chivas USA in 2009.
“I look at Ryan and Sasha as the guys that trailblazed and showed [guys like me from Sacramento] that road and how it was possible to get to MLS,” said Goldthwaite. “Then you had guys like Lee Morrison, John Jones, Taylor Graham, Scott Vallow and others not far behind them.”
Meanwhile, not one but two goalkeepers, DJ Countess and Steve Cronin (both Bella Vista High School graduates), were part of the inaugural U.S. Under-17 class at US Soccer’s Bradenton Residency program, IMG Academy, in 1999.
The team—which also featured future USMNT stars Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley ad Kyle Beckerman made their way to an upset fourth-place finish at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship falling just short of the tournament final in a penalty-kick shootout loss to Australia. Both Cronin and Countess went on to play in MLS, with Countess also playing overseas.
It was in the mid-2000s and late-2000s that a large influence of Sacramento region players began to make their presence more widely known across MLS as the league began to expand and add teams such as Portland Timbers, Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake.
The team—which also featured future USMNT stars Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley ad Kyle Beckerman made their way to an upset fourth-place finish at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship falling just short of the tournament final in a penalty-kick shootout loss to Australia. Both Cronin and Countess went on to play in MLS, with Countess also playing overseas.
It was in the mid-2000s and late-2000s that a large influence of Sacramento region players began to make their presence more widely known across MLS as the league began to expand and add teams such as Portland Timbers, Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake.
Goldthwaite himself was drafted to the San Jose Earthquakes in 2005, kicking off a wave of MLS players from the Sacramento region who would play throughout the league. The following year, defender Patrick Ianni (Tayt Ianni’s brother) was drafted by the Houston Dynamo, while Davis Senior High School alumni Sam Reyonlds joined Chivas USA the same season. Soon after, Bella Vista High School alumni Peter Lowry was drafted by Chicago Fire while Greg Curry was drafted by the San Earthquakes, both in 2008.
Rounding up the late 2000s, former United States Men’s National Team member and Central Valley native Heath Pearce—who currently works for KICK—returned from overseas to join FC Dallas in 2009.
“You look back at those years and when we played. Things have already changed so much compared to now,” Goldthwaite said about soccer development in the United States, including MLS and youth development.
The amount of Sacramento talent in MLS only continues to grow as changes to U.S. Soccer, such as the launch of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy in 2007, encourage youth player development. Currently, there are more than half a dozen players from the four-county Sacramento region playing in MLS, including Adam Jahn, Quincy Amarikwa and Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes), Jalil Anibaba (Houston Dynamo), Amobi Okugo (Portland Timbers), Ryan Hollingshead (FC Dallas), Miguel Aguilar (DC United) and Connor Hallisey (Sporting Kansas City).
“[It’] shows we’re going out and coaches and people are doing their due diligence to find players and find talent,” said Goldthwaite about the rise of Sacramento area players in MLS.
Goldthwaite himself was drafted to the San Jose Earthquakes in 2005, kicking off a wave of MLS players from the Sacramento region who would play throughout the league. The following year, defender Patrick Ianni (Tayt Ianni’s brother) was drafted by the Houston Dynamo, while Davis Senior High School alumni Sam Reyonlds joined Chivas USA the same season. Soon after, Bella Vista High School alumni Peter Lowry was drafted by Chicago Fire while Greg Curry was drafted by the San Earthquakes, both in 2008.
Rounding up the late 2000s, former United States Men’s National Team member and Central Valley native Heath Pearce—who currently works for KICK—returned from overseas to join FC Dallas in 2009.
“You look back at those years and when we played. Things have already changed so much compared to now,” Goldthwaite said about soccer development in the United States, including MLS and youth development.
The amount of Sacramento talent in MLS only continues to grow as changes to U.S. Soccer, such as the launch of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy in 2007, encourage youth player development. Currently, there are more than half a dozen players from the four-county Sacramento region playing in MLS, including Adam Jahn, Quincy Amarikwa and Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes), Jalil Anibaba (Houston Dynamo), Amobi Okugo (Portland Timbers), Ryan Hollingshead (FC Dallas), Miguel Aguilar (DC United) and Connor Hallisey (Sporting Kansas City).
“[It’] shows we’re going out and coaches and people are doing their due diligence to find players and find talent,” said Goldthwaite about the rise of Sacramento area players in MLS.
Sacramento talent also is rampant throughout professional soccer leagues in the United States, especially the USL. Rocklin High School alumni Seth Casiple plays for Portland Timbers 2. Republic FC’s roster alone includes four players with Sacramento region ties: forward Cameron Iwasa (Jesuit), midfielders Max Alvarez (Sacramento State) and Matt LaGrassa (Pleasant Grove) and goalkeeper Dom Jakubek (Lodi, Calif.)
With the launch of Sacramento Republic FC’s own youth Academy in 2015, Sacramento’s rise as a soccer capital will only become more pronounced, especially as the club hopes to develop players to eventually join the team in MLS.
While the Academy is just finishing their inaugural season, there are already clear signs that Republic FC’s commitment to youth player development in the region is playing off.
To-date, seven Republic FC players have received youth national team call-ups and eight seniors are already bound for NCAA Division I college programs. The Academy will also expand from three teams (U-13/14, U-15/16, U-17/18) to six (two U-12 teams, U-13, U-14, U-15/16, U-17/18) for the 2016-2017 season.
The success of not just Republic FC’s Academy, but youth development in the region throughout the whole, is a promising sign of things to come for Republic FC and the future of soccer development in the capital city.
“I can only imagine how exciting and fun that would have been to get to play for an Academy like the Republic,” said Goldthwaite. “Hopefully with Republic, the club will really be able to even further show what kind of talent Sacramento and the valley really has.”
Sacramento talent also is rampant throughout professional soccer leagues in the United States, especially the USL. Rocklin High School alumni Seth Casiple plays for Portland Timbers 2. Republic FC’s roster alone includes four players with Sacramento region ties: forward Cameron Iwasa (Jesuit), midfielders Max Alvarez (Sacramento State) and Matt LaGrassa (Pleasant Grove) and goalkeeper Dom Jakubek (Lodi, Calif.)
With the launch of Sacramento Republic FC’s own youth Academy in 2015, Sacramento’s rise as a soccer capital will only become more pronounced, especially as the club hopes to develop players to eventually join the team in MLS.
While the Academy is just finishing their inaugural season, there are already clear signs that Republic FC’s commitment to youth player development in the region is playing off.
To-date, seven Republic FC players have received youth national team call-ups and eight seniors are already bound for NCAA Division I college programs. The Academy will also expand from three teams (U-13/14, U-15/16, U-17/18) to six (two U-12 teams, U-13, U-14, U-15/16, U-17/18) for the 2016-2017 season.
The success of not just Republic FC’s Academy, but youth development in the region throughout the whole, is a promising sign of things to come for Republic FC and the future of soccer development in the capital city.
“I can only imagine how exciting and fun that would have been to get to play for an Academy like the Republic,” said Goldthwaite. “Hopefully with Republic, the club will really be able to even further show what kind of talent Sacramento and the valley really has.”
