Just For Kicks

By Al Chase

Sunday, June 17, 2001

National teams
succeeding at
many levels

THE United States men's and women's national soccer teams have been prominent newsmakers with their success in recent years.

The women's incredible triumph in the 2000 Women's World Cup was splashed across sports pages large and small. The men are enjoying a resurgence under head coach Bruce Arena and are 3-0-1 in the final round of qualifying for the 2002 Men's World Cup after a 0-0 tie with Jamaica yesterday.

Even the Under-23 Men's National Team which represented the U.S. at the Sydney Olympics reached rare heights with its fourth-place finish, best ever for the Americans.

Receiving considerably less publicity are several more national teams run by the United States Soccer Federation.

The Under-21 Women's National team, under-20 prior to 1998, has been in operation since 1989 and serves as the final training ground for the Women's National Team.

Last year the team, coached by Jillian Ellis, posted a 9-1-2 record with the only loss coming against the full French National Team.

In the last four years, the under-21s have compiled a 50-5-8 record and reached the final of the Nordic Cup all four years, winning three. Without a FIFA competition to shoot for, the goal each summer is the championship of the Nordic Cup. This year's event is July 25-31.

This is the first year for the Under-19 Women's National Team, which moves up from under-18. The reason is FIFA will conduct a first-ever under-19 Women's World Youth Championship starting in 2002.

This is the team that won the gold medal at the Winnipeg Pan American Games and were runners-up in the Albena Cup in Bulgaria last summer.

Tracey Leone is coaching the team this year. The U-19s will participate in the annual USYSA International tournament and play Canada's U-19s as part of doubleheaders with the national team June 30 and July 3.

FORMER MEN'S national team coach Steve Swanson takes over the Under-16 Girls National Team this year. This team serves the top players from the Under-14 developmental program.

The Under-20 Men's National Team, coached by Wolfgang Suhnholz, began play today against China in the FIFA World Youth Championship at Buenos Aires, Argentina. They will meet Chile and Ukraine later in the week in pool play.

George Gelnovatch, men's head coach at the University of Virginia, took over the Under-18 Men's National Team in late 1999 and posted a 10-5-4 record last year. The team was 3-1-3 on a recent European tour and will play in the U.S. Amateur Soccer Festival, July 27-August 5, in Illinois.

The Under-17 Men's National Team, coached by John Ellinger and in its second year of full-time residency camp, qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Championship hosted by Trinidad & Tobago, Sept. 14-30.

The USSF also sponsors an Under-16 Boys' National Team, a developmental and identification squad for potential future U-17 players.