Who are the top players for Houston Dynamo U-17s?

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">What was once a very strong group by Dynamo standards is now pretty sparse because of the loss U.S. U-17 winger [player_tooltip player_id='15805' first='Andre' last='Gitau'] and midfielder [player_tooltip player_id='16471' first='Luis' last='Moreno']. Gitau is currently without a club and Moreno moved to El Paso Locomotive in USL. The team is left with one Youth National Team level player in Zeke Soto and an above average left-back in [player_tooltip player_id='15894' first='Brian' last='Alanis']. </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">LB, [player_tooltip player_id='15894' first='Brian' last='Alanis'] (2006)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alanis is an offensive minded full-back does his best work in transition. He plays mostly as a wing-back in Houston's three person backline setup. Alanis is a very aggressive, confident and resilient player that attacks relentlessly. Alanis has good creativity on the ball and can surprise defenders with his touches and passes. I don't see Alanis get enough reps as a defender and it's unclear how effective he is as a one on one defender. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tier:</strong> 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size">CF, Zeke Soto (2007)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What kind of player is he? </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Soto is the most talented player in Houston's Academy and is one of the better players in the 2007 age group. He is a well rounded striker that is comfortable on the ball and off the ball. He has a good athletic profile and is a fluid and coordinator mover. He connect well with teammates and has a good feel for finding players in the final third. Soto needs to work on his consistency and be a more dominant and impactful player for greater portions of the games he plays in. Soto has been getting minutes in MLS Next Pro and is likely a candidate to get a first team deal if Houston can obtain his rights from LA Galaxy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Level:</strong> 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->