Three Sporting KC Academy players have been invited to attend the United States Under-16 Boys' National Team Talent Identification training camp from Sept. 19-23 at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., U.S. Soccer announced on Wednesday.
Dylan Hooper, Gavin Krenecki (pictured above) and Kayden Pierre are among 59 players from U.S. Soccer's three main scouting regions - East, Central and West - selected for the camp, which will be led by U.S. Soccer Director of Talent Identification Tony Lepore and a technical staff that includes U.S. Men’s National Team legend Landon Donovan.
Friday, Sept. 20
East Select vs. Central Select – 3 p.m. PT
West Select vs. Club Tijuana U-19 – 4:30 p.m. PT
Saturday, Sept. 21
East Select vs. West Select – 3 p.m. PT
Central Select vs. LA Galaxy U-19 – 4:30 p.m. PT
Monday, Sept. 23
Intra-Squad Game - 9:30 a.m. PT
Intra-Squad Game – 10:30 a.m. PT
Hooper, 15, signed an Academy contract with the Swope Park Rangers in April. The six-foot tall central defender from Shawnee, Kan., is in his third season with the Sporting KC Academy. He played in 24 matches for the Sporting U-15's in 2017-18 and appeared in 23 matches for the Sporting U-17's last season.
Krenecki, 16, has represented the U.S. at the Under-14 and Under-16 levels in the past. A California native, he joined the Sporting Academy in January and has made 11 appearances in net for the U-17's and U-19's in addition to signing an Academy contract with the Swope Park Rangers last week.
Pierre, a defender, also returns to the U.S. U-16 Boys' National Team. A Michigan native, he joined the Sporting Academy during the 2017-18 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season - appearing in 16 matches for the U-15's - and moved up to the U-17's last season with 26 games played while also joining the Swope Park Rangers for preseason.
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