IMG Cup Winter Showcase - Offensive Variety

First off, are you listening soccer world? Can we please make sure that our rosters, including numbers are easily found online? I saw some players I may have written up this weekend, but there were plenty of teams without pamphlets, and to get those you have to wade through parents, many who want to talk to you about this one kid...It's easy for us to see positions, numbers, but we don't know anything about many of these kids. Being able to look up the team online, and see who that player is would make our job so much easier to give them kudos.   That being said, there were a few players that stood out to me for different reasons. Not every offensive skill set is the same, yet all of them are important parts of the whole. The best offensive player I saw all weekend was on the IMG 09 Girls Academy team, [player_tooltip player_id='112568' first='Presley' last='Cason'], she was a whole different level of soccer player. I'll have more on her in another post. Some other players that jumped out to me:   1. Molly Boldrighini - 2027 - FWD. IMG 09 GA. Molly is a teammate of the previously mentioned Presley on the IMG 09 GA team. I was watching their late game Sunday, as it was a good matchup with a tough looking [program_tooltip program_id='283350' first='Florida' last='Premier'] RL team, and it was one of those games that as scouts we really love, as everywhere you looked there was another fantastic player. Molly jumped out to me because she was all gas, she had speed, hustle, and a level of feisty that makes watching soccer fun. She was working against two of the better defenders I saw all weekend, but she wasn't letting that stop her, continuously getting feeds from some of the other very skilled IMG players, breaking the corner to feed a cross, or crashing the net to clean up an opportunity from her teammates. She never slowed down, she went through players, around players, it didn't matter, she was GETTING to the goal. This is what coaches mean when they say they've got a player that will run through walls for you, she almost literally was battling some larger, fast defenders. She showed a good left foot cross a few times, and was smart about creating space to get a shot or pass off. Watching her reminded me of some classic NCAA battles I saw this season, I think she's got the skill to be an impact player at the next level.   2. Claire O'Hea - 2028 - F/M/D. Vale SC 2010.   I was taking in a 2010 game watching another team when Claire popped up on my radar. A coach I was watching the game with pointed her out, she had a good motor and was giving a talented defense all they could handle on our side. She's listed as a Mid and Defender on her recruiting site, but was playing up in the FWD space when I saw her, she was giving a good battle against some very good, physical defenders, and she just wouldn't give up. She carried the ball well and was finding open players through tiny windows. Her pressing the ball and interrupting the build out was one of my favorite aspects, and I think an underrated skill. I see lots of players these days that may be fast, but struggling to score up top, and I think they need to remember there are other small things you can do to help your team and create chances. Pressing the GK, or defenders on the build out and creating turnovers deep in the zone is a good way to generate offense, which she did well, with quite a few takeaways and doing very well in the 1v1 game. Seems by her position listing that she's a player you can play all over the field and she will do what you need to do, I'd be curious to see her in other spots now that she's on my radar, as those flexible players are worth their weight in gold as you move up in age groups. Recruiting wise, one player like her that can play 3 different positions could free up two roster spots for other players, having a versatile skill set is definitely an advantage.   3. Mia Beard - 2026 FWD/MID/OB. Liverpool Central MD U19.   I was trying to stay away from seniors in this post, but happened on an uncommitted senior that would be an absolute value to a college team and with the general lack of offense I saw this weekend, I decided she was going to get some press. Mia is fast. Like track star fast, literally a former track star in HS, she's got speed, and she's still a little raw on the soccer side. She scored this weekend doing a good job of following the play on a set piece and putting in a rebound, and last season she would have had some major goal totals if the posts weren't so angry at her. She hit posts/crossbars over 10 times last club season alone, showing that it's THERE. This season, she's been shifting around at team need, and most recently has started picking up playing outside back, where she has found some success. She's already got the ability to carry the ball in open field, so there's upside on the build out, and as she's given some coaching on the defense side on how to take angles and when to shift and cover, she looks like she will be a major asset here too. She's an absolutely LOVELY human, and looks like she could make a difference in a college program given the chance.   4. Jaycie Davis - 2028 CM/Wing. Liverpool Central MD U16.   When I talked about the various types of offensive contributors, Jaycie is what I mean by a playmaker. She's small and quick, but has great foot skills and finds ways to work herself and the ball out of traffic. In the younger age groups these types of players almost always end up as CM, great touch, foot skills, good passing and vision, but the drawback is the other type of commonly found CM are giant, physical players that can power through traffic vs dancing through it. When you end up with these match ups, you end up with smaller players getting abused physically and often hurt. Jaycie hasn't had injury issues and does a good job of creating and staying in space vs just trying to power girls off the ball, but she does have that side of her game too and can scrap if she needs to. She absolutely has the skill and ability to play at the next level, and if she's used in a situation where she can take advantage of space vs being thrown into a crowd of bodies, I think she will excel even more. She will follow the play all the way up on offense and get back to help on defense, and isn't afraid to shoot the ball. Size matters less in soccer than some other sports, with players her size being found all over rosters from Power 4 schools down to D3, so that won't hold her back at the next level. In the right system, she's going to be a top tier play maker and will help drive an offense. With hustle, good grades, and being a good person to go with that skill set, she's a player schools should be targeting, and June 15th her market expands. The race is on for this one.   5. [player_tooltip player_id='294927' first='Emilie' last='Kordahi'] - 2027 M/F. IMG 09 GA.   Emilie is another standout on the loaded IMG 09 team. This was by far the best team I saw at the tournament and the wealth of riches was on display here. With Cason and Boldrighini already up top it was hard to be impressed with anything else up top for one team, and then here comes Emilie dancing between players and using some top level speed to split the CB and fire a shot just wide. On any other team she would have been the star standout player and focal point of the offense, on this team she helped form their own version of Triple Espresso and kept offensive pressure on their opponents. She showed a motor that looks like it only has one speed and that's higher than most everyone else, she just kept coming. Life of a scout, I couldn't stay for the entire game, lots to see and all, but you could FEEL her closing in on a goal, with near miss after near miss. That kind of constant pressure is something most any team could use, and she already looked like she was ready to step into an NCAA program, much like her teammates. Check back in two years, she'll be on a college roster.     Overall, I didn't get to see a ton of offense outside of a couple games, most of the matches I caught were defensive battles, or close matched stalemates with not a lot going on, but the couple I saw had some real bright spots. A mix of raw youth, and seasoned players ready for a major college program, there's usually something to find if you look hard enough.   A topic I'll touch on, recruiting advice. I know many sources and coaches will tell you, you never know who is watching you and when, so be on your best behavior at and around games. There was a very talented offensive player that I was ready to write up based on skill level in a game, but some of the behavior and sportsmanship I saw during and after the game had me cross her off of any list. It doesn't matter how great of a player you are, if you are tearing down your teammates, and pointing blame at everyone else, screaming at the ref after every play and swearing at your opponents, you're going to be too much of a negative to risk team chemistry on. The heat of the game and passion are one thing, but being a bad teammate is another. And trust me, coaches ask.

First off, are you listening soccer world? Can we please make sure that our rosters, including numbers are easily found online? I saw some players I may have written up this weekend, but there were plenty of teams without pamphlets, and to get those you have to wade through parents, many who want to talk to you about this one kid...It's easy for us to see positions, numbers, but we don't know anything about many of these kids. Being able to look up the team online, and see who that player is would make our job so much easier to give them kudos.