24 PDP Players Participate in US Club Soccer id2 Camp

In NorCal Premier Soccer, the best players on each club team are recommended to participate at the next level, namely its free-of-cost Player Development Program.

But the best of the best from that program are then moved onto the next level, namely US Club Soccer’s id2 camps, in which 16 girls and eight boys from PDP took part in from December 6-9 in Arizona.

For NorCal, it was the most girls ever invited to the event, which saw 120 total players invited to play in front of several national team scouts.

From their performances at the camp, players are then whittled down to a smaller roster for trips in 2019 that will see the id2 program face off against professional teams and receive top-class coaching in events at yet-to-be-announced locations.

Last year, the boys participated in a tournament in Spain, while the girls received instruction from Manchester City and PSG coaches at a camp in Portland.

“It’s an opportunity, another step above our PDP where the players are competing for a position in what can be called a national selection,” said PDP Director of Scouting Ian Mork, who also served as a coach at the event. “It’s an opportunity for our players in PDP to showcase their talent on that level and compete for a position, which can be a huge step for their development.

“Even if they don’t make the roster for the trips, it’s beneficial for our players to be in this type of high-pressure environment,” Mork added. “The speed of play is quicker and there are a lot of good players there.”

Past players who have gone from id2 camps to national team camps include US stars Tyler Adams and Christian Pulisic as well as PDP alums Jonathan Gonzalez, Angie Anderson, Maya Doms, and Taylor Ziemer.

“The group that we had down there did really well, the majority of which were selected to play in the final game,” Mork said. “Now we’re in the process of making the final selections for the trip. We’ll see how that looks.”

For Mork, part of the reason for the large number of PDP players participating in id2 comes down to the unique structure of the program that has helped develop so many success stories in its relatively-young history.

“We’ve already confronted them with this environment where they’re having to earn a position within just our PDP,” Mork said. “Ultimately it’s really up to the players in how they react in that environment. They might score a lot of goals in their youth team, but when they come into this environment, there are new challenges for them.

“There’s something healthy about being in an uncomfortable environment.”

For more information about the event, click here.

Here is the list of participating players: