Lepore Plugging Away for Academy

Traveling the Nation Scouting Players

June 4, 2008

CHICAGO � With the US Development Academy in full swing with matches kicking off in various states across the nation on any given weekend, Director of Scouting Dave Sarachan, and full-time Academy scouts Tony Lepore and Raul Diaz Arce travel the nation and assign scouts to identify, assign and evaluate players on a weekly basis.

As a full-time scout, Lepore, the former Seacoast United and New Hampshire Soccer Association DOC, watches an average of four games on the weekends, following-up every weekend with a Monday conference call with all the Academy scouts, who convene to discuss issues ranging from player identification to coaching education to club administration. By Tuesday, all scouts submit their forms from the weekend, consolidating all the reviews and evaluations of the teams and players.

Former Seacoast United DOC and Cape Cod Crusader Tony Lepore continues his work with the US Development Academy.(Photo source: Seacoast United)

�We also have a lot of what we call per diem scouts and we give them assignments based on games that we have identified that we need to see in their area,� said Lepore.

For the back story on Lepore and why he signed on with the Academy, check out Soccer New England�s feature a few months ago.

While the regular season may entail a weekly routine, scouts also attend the Academy Showcases where they aim to review all teams in a unique environment and provide constructive criticism for Academy coaches.

�At the Showcase, the coaches all get an evaluation from the scout and the idea is to give them objective feedback,� said Lepore. �Most of the coaches value the opinion of someone who is not directly involved. It�s not critical, it�s not threatening and there�s no need to be defensive. It�s just open feedback which is then followed up with a call because the evaluation usually leads to really good discussion.�

Recently scouted by Lepore and other Academy scouts, Dylan Renna of the Under-15/16 PDA (Zarephath, N.J.) was one of 12 Academy players present at a recent Under-18 National Team camp with head coach Bob Jenkins in New Jersey. As a high school sophomore, the camp served as Renna�s introduction to the unique level of skill and competition with the Youth National Teams.

�Over the course of the first 10-15 games with the Academy there were some scouts there,� said Renna. �With my team doing well I guess they decided I might be a good fit and I thought it was a great experience playing with the best kids in the country in the Under-18 age group and the best coaching staff.�

For athletes like Renna, the scouts have already impacted their development in the Academy and in the Youth National Teams pools. Meanwhile, Lepore and other Academy scouts have seen team development on the field and look to encourage growth in each individual player.

Already, nearly 50 Development Academy players have participated in camps at the U-17, U-18 and U-20 level, as Under-17 Men�s National Team head coach Wilmer Cabrera and Under-20 coach Thomas Rongen build toward FIFA World Cups in 2009.

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