Sporting Kansas City Juniors goalkeeper Jacole Turner was selected to the United States Under-18 Men’s National Team for a training camp from March 25 through April 1 in Carson, Calif., the U.S. Soccer Federation announced on Friday.
“I'm obviously very excited,” Turner said. “I think it's a great opportunity to represent Sporting KC with the national team and I'm just ready to get started.
One of four goalkeepers on the 35-player roster, Turner will be participating in his first training camp with a United States youth national team and will train under new Under-18 head coach Javier Perez.
Turner, 17, was named to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy All-Central Conference Starting XI for the 2010-2011 season. A standout at Lee’s Summit North High School, he was voted Class 3 Goalkeeper of the Year in Missouri and was a First Team All-State honoree.
He was also a Kansas City Star First Team All-Metro selection this year and received extensive recognition from ESPNHS, including a spot on their Starting XI and State All-Stars lists as a top high school player in Missouri.
Turner has trained with the Sporting Kansas City senior team this year and appeared in an MLS Reserve League match for the club in 2011. He will continue his career at Barton County Community College in the fall.
Under-16 and Under-18 Juniors
The Sporting Kansas City Under-16 and Under-18 Juniors each received national attention this week ahead of their U.S. Soccer Development Academy matches against St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri on Saturday. ESPNHS’s Lem Satterfield spoke to head coach Paul Rideout and forward Nate Opperman following their 2-1 victory against St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro. TopDrawerSoccer.com also featured the club’s academy teams on Friday as the top story in their academy weekend preview with comments from Director of Coaching Jon Parry.
- Read: Sporting KC hits stride as league play starts (ESPNHS)
- Read: Academy Weekend Preview: March 24-25 (TopDrawerSoccer)
The Under-18 Juniors are 1-0-0 in the Central Conference’s Frontier Division and 5-3-0 overall. The Under-16 Juniors have posted three consecutive 2-2 draws in USSDA play and are 0-0-1 in division play, with a 2-2-4 overall record this season.
Under-13 and Under-14 Juniors
The Sporting Kansas City Under-13 and Under-14 Juniors will travel across Missouri for the 2012 SLSG Boys College Showcase on March 31 and April 1. The 15th annual event will feature teams from across the country as Sporting KC Juniors coaches Matt Trumpp and Dustin Ottesen continue the spring seasons for each of their teams.
Both teams participated in the 2012 Border Battle Tournament earlier this month at the Overland Park Soccer Complex. The Under-13 Juniors were crowned champions with a 2-0 win over SLSG Metro – Pre-Academy 98/99 in the final. Video highlights from the tournament are available here.
More Juniors News Online
Visit SportingKC.com for all the latest news on the Sporting Kansas City youth development academy and check out The Junior Way blog for weekly updates. Fans can also follow @SKCJuniors on Twitter for all the latest information from each of the four Juniors’ squads during their 2012 seasons.
