Who are the top players for D.C. United U-17s?

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">The D.C. United U17 team has been a bit of a disappointment this year. The 2006 class won the U16 MLS Next Championship last season and it looked like a group that could be highly successful at the U17 level. That hasn't panned out for a few reasons. First, the top two talents have not been available for different reasons. Center-back Matai Akinmboni has been fully promoted to the first team and is no longer an option for the U17s even though he is a 2006 born player. Gavin Turner has been injured for the better part of the year and is now fully focused on playing with Loudoun United in USL and will likely do so for the remainder of the season. The rest of the 2006 class just hasn't taken as big of a step forward in their development this year. Nacho Alem been in some U.S. U17 camps, but is still on the fringes of that group and Nelson Hernandez could be a future U.S. U16 option. </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, Nacho Alem (2006)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alem is a super crafty and technical winger that is capable of making a lot of good things happen. He isn't the biggest or the fastest, but he has enough of a physical profile to project to higher levels. His ability with the ball is what sets him apart. He controls the ball super well and uses creativity and space to keep defenders off-balance and create numerical advantages. He uses the ball to create chances for his teammates and to create chances for himself —&nbsp;he has good focus and precision as a finisher. He still has growth opportunity in his decision making and knowing when and how to attack defenses, but that should come with more reps and time. </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, Dash Papez (2006)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Papez is the leader of D.C. United U17s defense and carries the burden of starting the build out with the ball at his feet. Papez is modestly sized and has good short-area quickness. Papez shows good passing range and a willingness to attempt high difficult passes and he executes them with decent regularity. Defensively he is active and tough and is consistently in good help positions, but he can be beaten in one on one situations and duels at times. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier:</strong> Low 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">CM, Nelson Hernandez (2007)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hernandes has a chance to be the impact player for this U17 team next year. He has already started to be come one of their better players as a U16 in the second half of the season. Hernandes has decent size, strength and athleticism and he shows a very well rounded game, technically. He is a fairly simple player who relies on clean touches, good body shielding and one touch passing. He is good ball in midfield ball progression and primarily uses his above average vision and passing ability to bring the ball into the final third. Defensively, I really like his ability to win the ball back — he is highly successful in duels. The next big step for Hernandez, like many young players, is to be more impactful throughout the course of the game and to be more impactful to the scoreline. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Level:</strong> High 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->