Who are the top players for D.C. United U-15s?

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">The D.C. United U15 team is a mid to lower third level MLS Academy team at this level. None of the 2008s have been in the peripheral of the Youth National Team. D.C. has one of, if not the most talent rich territory, so it is disappointing to not see any tier 1 or 2 prospects from the 2008 class, but a few of their tier 3 players to have a ceiling, so maybe they will grow into that. The highest ceiling prospect on the U15 is a 2009 player that also played with the U15 last year. Hopefully D.C. adds talent from other academies before next season and hopefully some of these players take a step forward in their development. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">My grading system</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I use a numerical scoring framework to grade players. I look at what I consider to be the most important traits and skills for each position and apply a numerical value to each of those categories. I take into account the age of the player when grading for each category. The categories include physical traits, technical ability, intellectual understanding of the game and their mentality in how they approach the game. I average those individual scores in order to generate a holistic grade of the player. The score helps me identify what tier of prospect a player is.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier 1</strong>: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>High impact Youth National Team Player, often times playing up an age group</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>High impact club player, often times plays up an age group and still heavily impacts games</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>On the fast track to the first team</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier 2:</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Depending on strength of the age group, likely Youth National Team pool or core player</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>High impact player within his age group</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Potential future first team player</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier 3:</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>On the outside looking in to the Youth National Team</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Consistently one of the more impactful players on his club team</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>On track for a look in MLS Next Pro, USL or NCAA soccer</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Possesses some high level skills or traits, but also holes in his game</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">WING, Damilola Olupona (2008)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olupona has one of the most impressive physical profiles of all the 2008 wingers in MLS Next. He has great size, strength and fluidity. Olupona has some development areas in how to apply his physical ability and his dribbling ability more effectively in games and he can grow in how he can put himself in more dangerous or dangerous adjacent situations through his movement off of the ball. When Olupona does get the ball, he shows the bravery to want to do something positive with it. All of the tools are there for him, he just need some development and time to figure out how to put it all together in game situations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier:</strong> High 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">WING, Reginald Gainer (2008)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gainer is another winger on this team with good physical tools, but needs to develop a bit more tactically and technically. Gainer good, not great size and he has really good quickness and speed. His touch is pretty good and his dribbling ability is inconsistent, but the potential is there. Gainer needs to improve his decision making on the ball, but he does do a great job of finding and timing his runs to get into dangerous spot. Gainer shows a good work rate as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier:</strong> High 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">RCB, Alan Flores (2008)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Flores is the only 2008 player that has seen considerable time with both the U15 and U17 team. Flores' strengths are his ability on the ball. He has decent size, strength and athleticism. He controls the ball well and can use his dribbling ability to get out of pressure. He also has good passing technique and range and does a good job hitting accurate long balls, though his decision making in when to try and break lines with his passes needs cleaning up. Defensively, Flores is still a work in progress. His on-ball defending is okay, but can be shaky at times and his positioning is also a little inconsistent. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier:</strong> 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">WING, Makai Wells (2009)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>D.C. United is high on Wells and he has played with the U15s for two years now. He has shown some development this year and could be a player that takes a major step forward in the next couple of years. Wells is an above average athlete, though it is not the focal point of his game. He has good quickness and mobility. The two areas of his game that have really taken a step forward this year is his ball security and control, as well as his passing precision and range. He is becoming a player that can start to make things happen with his vision and passing ability. What I would like to see from Wells next year is more focus on getting on the ball and influencing the game more consistently. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier:</strong> 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->