Showcase Season Offense Starting to Warm Up in Maryland

We have had record-breaking cold and bad weather here in the Mid-Atlantic. Fields are still buried under snow and ice, if you've ever seen a turf field covered in a foot of snow and then an inch of ice...it's not ideal. Can't use a plow. Can't use a bobcat. When you have to break the ice with a sledgehammer or special ice pick before you can attempt to shovel it by hand. You can imagine how long it takes for soccer to be playable outside when this happens. This is why all the big ECNL and GA events are in warm weather states, so that the worst you are dealing with is rain or thunderstorms. We have had two big showcase tournaments canceled here the past couple weeks, Best of the East outside of Philly, [program_tooltip program_id='278061' first='Maryland' last='United'] outside of DC, and even the Penn Fusion showcase this weekend had to cancel multiple brackets to fit onto the fields they COULD play on. The need for more indoor 11v11 fields in this area can NOT be understated. This is a hotbed for soccer in our country. Northern VA, MD, PA and NJ contribute a large number of D1 prospects every year, but it's hard to do that in the years snow wipes things out. Rant over. Here are some of the offensive prospects I was on my way to see when the snow showed up:    As always, I like to mix in some players not on the top teams, some that deserve recognition, but won't get it without work where they are. Kate is one of those players. She's tiny, at 5'0, but she's one of the most naturally talented and technical players I've seen. Much like her teammate I wrote about in the defensive section, the only thing holding her back is the need to move to a better club with tougher competition, exposure, recruitment education, and better coaching. I think she can handle playing ECNL or GA and will step up at that level, but right now like a lot of players, she just doesn't know what she doesn't know yet. Some savvy coaches would do well to keep their eye on her now, once she gets the exposure that upper level will give her, she's going to get a lot of attention and fast, especially once she settles in and discovers her playing identity at that higher level as that often changes with new clubs and coaches. I'll have more on her once I get to see them live, something I've got scheduled for later this month.     This one is far from under the radar. She's one of the best offensive players in our half of the country on a loaded [program_tooltip program_id='278061' first='Maryland' last='United'] 2011 team. She's on the Albanian U15 National Team, and is a 6x veteran of the US ID Camp program. She is every bit the monster you think she is after you read that. I love watching her play. She's also a captain of the US Futsal team at her age group, which should give you an indication of her technical foot skill. She plays mostly anywhere on offense, her Futsal skills and ability to move quick and read the play in traffic makes her a great center mid, but her skills will play anywhere you want her. June 15th is about 16 months off for her, but I have no doubt she will be a busy girl that day.     Yet another superstar in the making from that 2011 [program_tooltip program_id='278061' first='Maryland' last='United'] team, she's a teammate both club and HS of [player_tooltip player_id='339631' first='Caroline' last='Wintz'], which will make McDonogh a contender for the next couple of years. Isabelle is also in the US ID Camp program, another offensive star. The one time I caught some of their game she was playing attacking mid at the time, but you know how that goes in soccer, a true offensive player for sure though, they have some star power on that 2029 team, it will be interesting to see what the age group changes do overall next year, but I'll be watching this team more than almost any.     Here's a player I've followed for a couple years now. I first found and wrote about her before she made her way to [program_tooltip program_id='278061' first='Maryland' last='United']. Back when I was watching some other players for a SAC team, she stood out to me as a legit forward. Good size and speed, took good routes to get herself open and wasn't afraid to take shots. Then tryout season rolls around and I find out she made the United team, it really didn't surprise me, they've got good taste and must have seen the same things I did.     Another star offensive player from [program_tooltip program_id='278061' first='Maryland' last='United'], yet another class of 2029 talent, she's on the Puerto Rico National Team and is one of the best passing players I've ever seen. A true play maker, her passes were on target, with good vision and timing. Her through balls were especially impressive with the right touch to keep them from the GK but playable for the forward. She had a nice smooth shooting touch from outside the 18, where I've seen her put a few balls in. She's an absolute assassin if you have a free kick between the 18 and 25. It will be interesting to see if the club puts all of these girls together on one star 2029 team next year.    I've got a few more players I'm going to hold on to for a rainy day, some I saw glimpses of and I want to see more, some I've known for years and just like to stay up with them. With a tournament coming up, I'll try to stick to what I see there, and then maybe I'll get back into emptying my notebook. The end of the month may bring another small preview of who I'm targeting in Northern VA for the Loudon College Showcase, and will give me some highlights to talk about as well.

We have had record-breaking cold and bad weather here in the Mid-Atlantic. Fields are still buried under snow and ice, if you've ever seen a turf field covered in a foot of snow and then an inch of ice...it's not ideal. Can't use a plow. Can't use a bobcat. When you have to break the ice with a sledgehammer or special ice pick before you can attempt to shovel it by hand. You can imagine how long it takes for soccer to be playable outside when this happens. This is why all the big ECNL and GA events are in warm weather states, so that the worst you are dealing with is rain or thunderstorms. We have had two big showcase tournaments canceled here the past couple weeks, Best of the East outside of Philly, Maryland United outside of DC, and even the Penn Fusion showcase this weekend had to cancel multiple brackets to fit onto the fields they COULD play on. The need for more indoor 11v11 fields in this area can NOT be understated. This is a hotbed for soccer in our country. Northern VA, MD, PA and NJ contribute a large number of D1 prospects every year, but it's hard to do that in the years snow wipes things out. Rant over. Here are some of the offensive prospects I was on my way to see when the snow showed up: