Jersey Premier Soccer (JPS) has become the latest addition to the Global Premier Soccer (GPS) network that includes franchises in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, Florida, Vermont and Rhode Island.

Jersey Premier Soccer has been created in partnership with Ocean City FC, one of the leading player development programs in southern New Jersey. Ocean City also operate one of the leading USL Premier Development League (PDL) franchises in the country, the Ocean City Nor’easters.

Expanding and enhancing Ocean City FC’s current programs, JPS will offer a wide range of soccer products and services and will introduce the School Of Excellence Program to townships with a view to creating an improved player development environment in New Jersey primarily via curriculum, coach education and year round coaching from professional coaches.

“As well as a unique club system, methodology and support network, JPS will bring a curriculum that has developed national team players and a culture that brings townships and clubs together,” said Jersey Premier Soccer General Manager Neil Holloway. “JPS will strive to create more opportunities for players and help players fulfill their potential.”

With headquarters in Ocean City, JPS will work with existing townships and clubs to launch year round premier teams with tryouts taking place at the end of the spring. “JPS will provide players and families in southern New Jersey a tried and tested player development model that has produced regional and national caliber youth players and teams throughout the GPS network,” said Holloway. “We look forward to providing a pathway to the collegiate and professional level for our players as JPS becomes the Premier club in southern New Jersey and beyond.”

Two prominent local coaches based in central New Jersey have also joined JPS. Martin Punt and Christy Holly are well recognized in central New Jersey as two of the leading youth trainers and will facilitate JPS establishing a presence throughout central and northern New Jersey.

“With the existing base of programming and staff at Ocean City, coupled with the expertise of Martin and Christy, we are off to a great start,” said GPS CEO Joe Bradley. “We expect to make an immediate impact in the local player development environment by combining our resources and taking a collaborative approach to building programming.”

For more information on Jersey Premier Soccer please visit www.jerseypremiersoccer.com or contact JPS General Manager Neil Holloway on nholloway@globalpremiersoccer.com.
Also, visit www.globalpremiersoccer.com and www.oceancityfc.com for further details.

Mini-Kickers Camp = Week #1: June 25 – 29
                                 Week #2: July 23 – 27
                                 Week #3: August 13 – 17

6th Street & Haven Avenue Baseball Complex
9:00am - 10:30am
Age 3 - 6 years old
$100
 

Half Day Camp = Week #1: June 25 – 29
                            Week #2: July 23 – 27
                            Week #3: August 13 – 17

6th Street & Haven Avenue Baseball Complex
9:00am - 12:00pm
Age 6 - 17 years old
$160

To register online for any of the Ocean City Nor’easters summer camps CLICK HERE

For more information on the Ocean City Nor’easters 2012 summer camps email info@oceancityfc.com or call the office on (609) 525 9999

Parent Testimonial:
"I have been meaning to write to all of you at the Nor’easters in OceanCity for several weeks now to thank you for the wonderful soccer camp my children attended back in July 2011. Both my son (11) and my daughter (8), attended the camp in OC in early July: thankfully before the real heat set in! While they both loved the camp this summer, and agreed that they would want to attend next year, I did not expect the impact it would have on their Fall soccer seasons here at home.
In their very first games on the season, both of my children had goals! They obviously learned a lot of valuable skills during your camp, even though it was only 15 hours of instruction! My son has been playing soccer for four years, including indoor soccer in the winter, and he has never had a goal! He has had four games, and has averaged four goals over those games! Unbelievable! He has so much more confidence out on the field, and really is enjoying the season so much more since he is doing so well.
Thank you from a very happy Mom! We will see you next summer for sure!"

Kathleen L. Penney

This Saturday sees the latest Mid-Atlantic Division franchise Baltimore Bohemians play their first ever USL PDL game as they entertain the Ocean City Nor’easters at their home ground of Cedar Lane Park.

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The Nor’easters are very happy with the balanced schedule that the United Soccer Leagues have announced for the upcoming 2012 Premier Development League (PDL) season. With some old foes and new franchises to compete against on the road to playoff glory and some top new recruits, this year promises to be one of the best ever.

Sunday Night, Soccer Night could become a popular phrase in Ocean City, NJ as 6 of the Nor’easters 8 home games at Carey Stadium fall on a Sunday with 7pm kick off. The Nor’easters start off against traditionally tough teams and hope to get the points on the board early on as new Head Coach Tim Oswald looks to mark his mark on the franchise. For the full USL PDL schedule click here.

The Nor’easters supporters, the people and companies who sponsor the team and the City of Ocean City, NJ work hard to help this nonprofit minor league sports organisation reach it’s full potential and 2012 is the year for this potential to be realised. With the contiued help and support from those around us in this community the Nor’easters will push to put South Jersey and Ocean City higher up on the sporting map.

Let’s take a moment and see who your Ocean City Nor’easters will be up against this season in the hunt for the playoffs:
 

Home Game - Sunday May 27th - 7pm Kick Off - Carey Stadium
Away Game - no game due to USL PDL scheduling

The Nor’easters kick off their 2012 USL PDL home campaign against the Central Jersey Spartans. The teams have faced each other four times in the past as the Spartans were only founded as a PDL club in 2010. Nor’easters record of 0-2-2 looks bad but the Spartans have only scored 2 more goals over those four games. This looks like it will be another close game between the two New Jersey teams but the Nor’easters will want to start the season with a win with new Head Coach Tim Oswald taking charge of his first game at the loud and intimidating Carey Stadium.

Home Game - Sunday June 3rd - 7pm Kick Off - Carey Stadium
Away Game - Wednesday May 23rd - 8pm Kick Off - NJIT Stadium

This Newark based franchise and the Nor’easters have been facing off for four years now with Nor’easters holding a poor record of 2-5-2 with Express just edging the scoring 16-20 over the 9 games. However, one memorable game in 2009 saw the Nor’easters win 7-1 and the game featured Billy Pinto’s first ever goal for Ocean City. Pinto is now the assistant coach to the current Nor’easters team. A couple of red cards and recent close scoring games has made this a red hot in-state rivalry.
 

Home Game - Friday June 8th - 7pm Kick Off - Carey Stadium
Away Game - Friday July 13th - 7pm Kick Off - Exeter High School

This is Ocean City’s oldest continued rivalry that dates back to the professional era in 1997. Reading United AC (formerly Reading Rage) have contested 24 games with the Nor’easters with the blue and white’s often on the winning side. Nor’easters record against their Pennsylvania opponents stands at 13-7-4 including a 14 game unbeaten streak over 7 years including 12 wins. Ocean City also dominante the scoring records at 52-37. Over recent years, however, Reading United have become the dominant side with the Nor’easters not recording a win against them in the last 5 games.

Home Game - Sunday June 10th - 7pm Kick Off - Carey Stadium
Away Game - Saturday May 19th - 7pm Kick Off - Ceder Lane Park

Baltimore Bohemians are a completely new USL PDL franchise in Maryland. The owner, Louis Angelos is son of Peter Angelos, majority stakeholder in the MLB Baltimore Orioles. The team get their name from their prime sponsor, National Bohemian beer. The Ocean City Nor’easters are looking forward to this new out of state challenge from Baltimoe, here’s to the future rivalry and cheers to wondering how a team with a beer sponsor will cope in a dry town!

Home Game - Sunday July 1st - 7pm Kick Off - Carey Stadium
Away Game - Friday June 15th - 7pm Kick Off - Bermuda Athletic Association Fields

Another new rivalry but with an international twist. The Hogges have slightly edged the four games they have contested winning 2, losing 1 and drawing 1. The Bermuda Hogges double up as the Bermudan national U23 team and use the USL PDL as a challenging league for the young, aspiring Bermudans. The owner of the team, Shaun Goater, made his name as a player with Manchester City of the English Premier League scoring 101 goals in 184 appearances as well as playing for Manchester United, Nor’easters partner club Reading FC and Bristol City.
 

Home Game - Friday July 6th - 7pm Kick Off - Carey Stadium
Away Game - Wednesday May 30th - 7.30pm Kick Off - Morris Catholic High School

The New Jersey Rangers franchise began in 2008 and it was the Ocean City Nor’easters who handed the Rangers their first defeat, an 8-1 thumping including a hat-trick from the latest Nor’easters in the Pros, Steven Miller (now with Montreal Impact). The Nor’easters have a 6-1-1 record against Rangers with a goal difference of 23-8. The 2009 Nor’easters victory over the Rangers clinched the playoff berth before going onto the PDL Quarter Finals finally losing to Chicago Fire U23s. The Ocean City Nor’easters are hoping to continue their dominance over the Denville, NJ natives as the games continue into 2012.
 

Home Game - Sunday July 8th - 7pm Kick Off - Carey Stadium
Away Game - Saturday June 23rd - 7.30pm Kick Off - City Park Stadium

The Nor’easters first met the Westchester Flames in 2002 but due to the leagues regional alignments they have only met each other 12 times. Nor’easters have a 5-2-5 record against the New York team. In 2005 the Nor’easters put the Flames to the sword with a 6-2 victory. During that game former Nor’easter Rueben Mingo put up a points record that still holds today with 4 goals and 1 assist. This long stood, friendly and very competitive rivalry sets to be even more intense as both games are scheduled towards the end of the season, playoff positions will be up for grabs and those extra points even more important.

Home Game - Sunday July 15th - 7pm Kick Off - Carey Stadium
Away Game - Wednesday June 20th - 8pm Kick Off - Metropolitan Oval

This is the Nor’easters second longest continued rivalry, the pair first met in 1998. Since then they have played 16 times with the Nor’easters boasting a 8-6-2 record with a goals scored total of 38-24. The teams have been involved in some high scoring, high entertainment games throughout the years. The most notable of these games was in 2003 when Ocean City Nor’easters posted their first ever PDL victory after dropping down from the pros. Former Nor’easter Jeremiah White scored twice. Jeremiah White later went on to become the first Ocean City alumni to earn an appearance for the US Men’s National Team. The rivalry between the two clubs is fierce and the recent results show the Nor’easters starting to pull away from the Brooklyn, NY club. 2011 saw the Nor’easters win home and away with a 6-0 scoring total amassed in the two games, the Ocean City supporters will be hoping for the same again this time around.

Home Game - No game due to USL PDL scheduling
Away Game - Wednesday June 27th - 7.30pm Kick Off - St. Anthony’s

This is the most even of match ups with the Nor’easters just in front with a 3-2-2 record while the goal differential in those 7 games is 12-12. Always exciting and full of goals, this game will be unpredictable. The two clubs first played in a US Open Cup Qualifier back in 2001 but did not compete in the same division until 2008. Due to scheduling reasons they only meet once in 2012 but the Nor’easters always relish a visit to Long Island scoring 6 goals in 3 games at St. Anthony’s. All in all, this will be a great game.

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Mid Atlantic Division: Bermuda Hogges, Carolina Dynamo, Central Jersey Spartans, Hampton Roads Piranhas, Ironbound Express, New Jersey Rangers, Northern Virginia Royals, OCEAN CITY FC, Reading United, West Virginia Chaos
Northeast Division: Albany (NY), Brooklyn Knights, Long Island Rough Riders, New Hampshire Phantoms, Ottawa Fury, MPS Portland Phoenix, Vermont Voltage, Western Mass Pioneers, Westchester Flames

Mid-Atlantic team profiles:

Bermuda Hogges: Founded in 2007 as a professional side in the USL Second Division and struggled in their three seasons in the league. They failed to make the playoffs all three years.

Carolina Dynamo: One of the great franchises in USL history, with 16 seasons under their belt. Last year, they finished with an impressive 10-4-2 record and lost in the opening round of the PDL playoffs to the Cary Clarets. The Dynamo have only missed the playoffs three times in 16 seasons competing in the professional and PDL levels of the USL. Carolina ended the Barons’ unbeaten season in 2004 with a 3-2 win in the Conference Finals.

Central Jersey Spartans: An expansion team that will begin play in 2010.

Hampton Roads Piranhas: The Piranhas will enter their fifth season in the PDL after beginning in 2006 as the Virginia Beach Submariners. They were division champions in their first two years, but their last two years, they have fallen short of the postseason.

Ironbound Express: The Express have had success in their first two seasons in the PDL, including a second place Northeast Division finish and a playoff appearance in their inaugural season in 2008. Last year, they struggled, finishing in fifth place in the division with a 6-8-2 record. Originally based in Newark, NJ, the club has dropped the city from their name for the 2010 season.

New Jersey Rangers: The Rangers entered the PDL the same year as the Ironbound Express, but have not enjoyed the same success. Last year, they finished in last place with a 2-12-2 record.

Northern Virginia Royals: The Royals began as a professional club (USL-2) in 1998 but have found little success over the years. They joined the PDL in 2006 and have not made the postseason since 1999. Last year, they finished with a 2-10-4 record. One of their notable former players is goalkeeper Troy Perkins who spent time with DC United of Major League Soccer and is playing professionally in Europe. Fun fact: In 2004, due to a unique scheduling situation, the Barons defeated the Royals 3-1 in a regular season game, despite the fact that Northern Virginia was a professional team in the Pro Soccer League (now known as the USL Second Division).

Reading United AC: The Reading Rage, a long-time rival of Ocean City, will enter the 2010 season with a new name and a new logo. Reading and Ocean City have been playing each other since they were professional teams in the late 90s and the early 2000s. Last year, Reading won their second straight division championship and won their first PDL regular season title. Their 13-1-2 earned them 41 points, the most of any team in the league.

West Virginia Chaos: The PDL side from West Virginia has yet to qualify for the playoffs since they began play in 2003. The Chaos finished in fifth place in the Northeast Division last year with a 5-8-3 mark.

(From left to right) Barons General Manager Neil Holloway, Director of PDL Operations Lee Cohen, and Barons Director of Communications and Youth Academy coach John Thompson pose for a photo after the Barons were named the 2008 PDL Organization of the Year at the USL AGM in Tampa, Fla.

]]> http://www.oceancityfc.com/home/291879.html 01/01/2010 04:15 PM http://www.oceancityfc.com/home/271242.html The South Jersey Barons Under-17 team finished in a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan on Thursday night in an exhibition game in Clark, NJ.

Ryan Finley (Lumberton, NJ / Rancocas Valley HS), who became the youngest player to ever score a goal for the Ocean City Barons PDL team this past season, opened the scoring thirty minutes into the match. Kevin Curran (Upper Township, NJ / Ocean City HS) sent a pass down the right wing for Finley, who dribbled in and scored from a tight angle to put the hosts up 1-0.

Inter Milan, who are the defending Italian Serie A Under-17 champions, answered five minutes later with a goal by Filippo Fracaro to tie the game up, and that’s how the score would remain.

Andrew D’Ottavi (Upper Township, NJ / Ocean City HS) was in goal for the Barons in the first half, 

The South Jersey Barons Under-17 team, led by Reading F.C. coaches  Lee Herron (far right in blue) and Ryan Williams (far left in blue) poses for a team photo prior to their match against the Inter Milan Under-17s.

and was replaced by McKenzey Scott (Cape May, NJ / Wildwood Catholic) after the break. Both goalkeepers played well against some dangerous Inter attacks, but it was Scott that made some great saves, including a few late point blank stops to keep the game level.

A few highlights from the match included MJ Nestor (Avalon, NJ / Wildwood Catholic) who wow’d the crowd with some flip throw-ins, a couple of which lead to scoring opportunities for his team.

Kameron Teel (Glassboro, NJ / Gloucester Catholic) received some post-game praise for his hard work on the offensive end, creating chances for the hosts.

The Barons continued to put on the pressure in the final minutes with their best chance coming from Alec Golini (Lumberton, NJ / Rancocas Valley HS). Golini got behind the defense and was one on one with the Inter Milan goalkeeper, who came out to cut off the angle. His shot was stopped, but the rebound fell to Golini’s high school teammate, Ryan Finley, who’s shot was cleared off the line by the Inter backline.

Curran nearly had the game-winning goal in the final five minutes, but his left-footed drive just curved wide of the upper corner of the goal.

The last chance came with just seconds left in the match when Voltaire Escalona (Blue Bell, PA / Germantown Academy) led a four on three break. He took a shot from about 12 yards out and put it just wide of the post.

The stands were packed with 2,800 fans to watch the two teams square off at Arthur Johnson High School.

"I am extremely pleased with the organizational aspect of the event, the great hardcore, enthusiastic standing room only crowd," said Aldo Tripicchio, the president of Inter Club Facchetti of New Jersey, which organized the exhibition game.

He added, "We were also pleased that the Chief Operating Officer of Inter F.C., Mr. Ernesto Paolillo, was present at the game, a clear sign that Inter is interested in establishing a strong relationship with U.S. Soccer."

Mr. Paolillo has invited members of the Barons organization for a future visit to Milan to see the home of the Italian champions, which is promising for a potential relationship between the two clubs down the road.

"It was a monumental performance by the Barons boys," said Neil Holloway, the general manager of the Barons PDL side. "I think that Inter were a bit shocked about how competitive we were. We also felt it was important to get every player in the game to give them an opportunity to experience a game like this."

Lee Herron and Ryan Williams, a pair of coaches from Reading Football Club in the English Championship, were coaching the Barons squad along with Holloway and were very proud of the team’s performance.

"The Barons lads were fantastic," said Herron. "They were a credit to the organization and their country, and showed that football in the U.S. is of a very high quality." The Reading coaches, who were in South Jersey for the Barons Academy Camp this past week, said afterwards that some of the Barons players could get the opportunity to travel to England to train with the Reading F.C. youth academy.

This friendly was the first of two for Allievi Nazionali, with a match against the New York Red Bulls Under-17 team on Saturday. The games lead up to "Inter Village", the main event of Inter Milan’s trip to the United States, which is organized by Inter Club Moratti, a New York-based fan club led by president Stefano Turriciano. Inter Village will take place August 23-24 in New York City and will give young players an opportunity to learn directly from youth coaches from the Italian champions. The event will be held at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village, NY and features games, clinics, and free Inter Milan merchandise.

South Jersey Barons U17s roster
vs. Inter Milan U17s on August 21, 2008
Number	Player	Hometown	High School
1	McKenzey Scott	Cape May, NJ	Wildwood Catholic
2	Robert Nowlan	Atco, NJ	Hammonton HS
3	Tom Meenan	Marlton, NJ	Cherokee HS
4	MJ Nestor	Avalon, NJ	Wildwood Catholic
5	Alec Golini	Lumberton, NJ	Rancocas Valley
7	Luca May	Easthampton, NJ	Rancocas Valley
9	Ryan Finley	Lumberton, NJ	Rancocas Valley
10	Voltaire Escalona	Blue Bell, PA	Germantown Academy
11	Nick Tierno	Sicklerville, NJ	Timber Creek HS
13	Andrew D’Ottavi	Upper Township, NJ	Ocean City HS
15	Colin McFadden	Ventnor, NJ	St. Augustine Prep
16	Alex Weidman	Linwood, NJ	Mainland Regional
17	Jerry Guzzo	Washington Twp, NJ	Washington Twp Regional
18	Kevin Davis	Clementon, NJ	Highland Regional
19	Kevin Curran	Upper Township, NJ	Ocean City HS
20	Giancarlo Granese	Ocean City, NJ	Ocean City HS
21	Andrew Schuler	Tabernacle, NJ	Seneca HS
22	Joe D’Ascenzo	Spring City, PA	Malvern Prep
23	Kameron Teel	Glassboro, NJ	Gloucester Catholic
25	Giovanni Tacconelli	Mt. Laurel, NJ	Lenape HS
26	Brendan Layden	Ventnor, NJ	Atlantic City HS
27	Rocco Gambino	Mt. Laurel, NJ	Lenape HS
Coaching Staff
Neil Holloway		Ocean City Barons GM
Lee Herron		Reading F.C. (England)
Ryan Williams		Reading F.C. (England)

]]> http://www.oceancityfc.com/home/271242.html 01/25/2010 10:47 AM http://www.oceancityfc.com/home/233804.html OCEAN CITY, NJ (March 19, 2008) In a landmark agreement, the South Jersey Barons organization, fronted by their Premier Development League (PDL) club, the Ocean City Barons, have formed a partnership with Reading Football Club, of the English Premier League (EPL). As part of the agreement, which was organized through Reading’s "Football in the Community Trust" program, the "Royals" will send some of their coaches to lend their expertise and help run the Barons’ youth academy camp in August. Also, Reading FC will continue to host the Barons’ youth teams during Easter weekend, as they expose the young players to some of the top facilities at one of the elite youth development clubs in the EPL.

Both of the South Jersey Barons’ Under-15 boys teams will leave for Reading on Wednesday, March 19 and will train at the club for nine days, during which time they will play against other local select teams. The paramount matchup of the trip will be a game at Reading’s training ground on Saturday, March 22 where the Barons will take on the Royals’ Under-15 academy team. 

Barons U-15 Boys roster traveling to Reading
Name				Hometown	High School
Cory Adamonis				Sicklerville, NJ	Washington Twp
Philip Barbaro				Clayton, NJ	Delsea Regional
Matthew Bryan				Medford, NJ	Shawnee
Vinny Carollo				Delran, NJ	Delran
Cody Chladek				Shamong, NJ	Seneca
Eric Cutry				Medford, NJ	Shawnee
Andrew Lamsback				Marlton, NJ	Cherokee
JT Maurer				Marlton, NJ	St. Joseph’s Prep
Thomas Nowlan				Atco, NJ	Hammonton
Jason Schwab				Linwood, NJ	Mainland Regional
Nicholas Tierce				Voorhees, NJ	Eastern
Brandon Trojak				Lumberton, NJ	Rancocas Valley
Derek Welsh				Medford, NJ	Shawnee
Robert Wiacek				Voorhees, NJ	Eastern
Vincent Wilson				West Berlin, NJ	Overbrook
Kyle Schmid				Woolwich Twp, NJ	Kingsway Regional
Drew Garrett				Vineland, NJ	Vineland
Charles Elmendorf				Medford, NJ	Shawnee
Thomas Niedrach				Medford, NJ	Shawnee
Alex Baroudi				Erial, NJ	Timber Creek
Seth Levy				Cherry Hill, NJ	Cherry Hill HS East
Keaton Goad				Medford, NJ	Shawnee
Edward McCartney				Voorhees, NJ	St. Joseph’s Prep
Kevin Savage				Woodbury, NJ	St. Joseph’s Prep
COACHES
Neil Holloway				Reading, England
Byron Carmichael				Lumberton, NJ

After Saturday’s match, the players will have an opportunity to see an important English Premier League match at the famed Madejski Stadium when the Royals host Birmingham City later that day. There will be a ceremony at halftime of the game where the Barons and Royals will exchange shirts and publicly announce the new partnership.

While this is the third year in a row that the Barons have sent youth academy teams over to Reading, this will be the first visit under the new agreement.

"The Barons have been over to us touring with their teams on a number of occasions," said Lee Herron, Reading’s Community Trust manager. "We have been very impressed with the quality and professionalism of the club and we felt that we needed to formalize the partnership."

The trip is an annual homecoming for Ocean City Barons general manager, Neil Holloway. The Reading native is a product of the Royals’ youth academy, beginning his training at the age of nine. In addition to the soccer education he received, he also spent time cleaning boots of the senior players at the club and cleaning the stands at Elm Park, which pre-dates the club’s current Madejski Stadium. At the age of 18, he traveled to the United States to accept a full scholarship at Wheeling Jesuit University in the state of West Virginia.

"I’m extremely excited, and proud, that my hometown club is partnering with my club here in the U.S.," said Holloway. "Reading Football Club has played a major role in my life. I’ve always been a loyal Royal, and continued to be since I left to pursue my soccer ambitions in the States."

Reading Football Club was founded in 1871, but did not reach the Premiership until the 2006/07 season. Last year, in their first season in the top flight, led by American internationals Bobby Convey (William Penn Charter School / Philadelphia, PA) and Marcus Hahnemann (Seattle Pacific University / Seattle, WA), they finished in eighth place. One of the highlights for the Barons U-15 players on this trip will be on Wednesday, March 26 when they will get a tour of the Madejski Stadium and will take part in a training session at the club’s indoor facility. Later, they are scheduled to have a question and answer session with Convey and Hahnemann.

"We’re very pleased to establish a relationship with the South Jersey Barons," said Herron. "Establishing a strong presence in the United States is an important part of Reading FC’s continued growth and working with a well-organized and progressive club like the Barons is very exciting for us. I am sure this will be a mutually beneficial relationship."

"This partnership is just the starting point between the Barons and Reading FC," added Holloway. "We have a great relationship with everyone at the club and we hope to evolve this into something much bigger in the years ahead."

About the Ocean City Barons

The Ocean City Barons are a minor league soccer franchise based in Ocean City, New Jersey that competes in the Premier Development League (PDL) -- the top men’s amateur league in North America. The PDL is considered the 4th level of soccer in the United States below Major League Soccer, and the United Soccer League’s First and Second Divisions. Players have the ability to compete in the PDL throughout the summer months in a professionalized setting while maintaining their collegiate eligibility. The league is the proving ground for players that aspire to reach the highest levels of the game, while providing affordable family entertainment to the Ocean City community.

Founded in 1997, the Barons are entering their 12th year of existence in 2008 and are one of the winningest PDL clubs in North America. Since joining the league in 2003, they are 52-16-16, the 5th best record among the more than 60 teams in the league. Since joining the PDL, 16 former Barons have moved on to play professional soccer, including Jeremiah White (AGF Aarhus in Denmark) who recently became the first Baron to earn a cap with the senior U.S. National Team.

They continued their tradition of success on the field in 2007 when they qualified for the PDL playoffs and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, marking the third time in the last four years the club had achieved both in the same season. The highlight of the 2007 campaign came in the First Round of the Open Cup when they upset Crystal Palace Baltimore, a professional team from the United Soccer League’s Second Division, 1-0 on June 12 at Carey Stadium in Ocean City.

The Barons open the 2008 schedule on May 11th at home against the Newark Ironbound Express. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. For a full schedule, click here.]]> http://www.oceancityfc.com/home/233804.html 02/25/2008 12:39 PM http://www.oceancityfc.com/home/228493.html One South Jersey Barons Youth Academy player has been handed the opportunity of a life time, an opportunity not handed out with out to just anyone, but to players at the top level of youth soccer. Through his play at the Super Y-League ODP camp back in January Glenroy Chapman has earned the opportunity to live and train alongside the Youth Academy players of the famous English Premier Leauge Club West Ham United. Glenroy has been a member of the South Jersey Barons Youth Academy since 2002 and is in his 5th season with the club. He is a student at the St Augustines Prep and plays for the Barons U17 Black team.

Glenroy Chapman

Junior will be joined by 11 other players on the trip to England all of whom impressed at this years ODP camps. This group of players represent the best of the best in the SYL program and will hope to impress the coaches of the world famous Academy. West Ham Academy has produced a long list of famous England Internationals over the years. The most recent an d notable players to graduate the Academey are Rio Fe rdinand (Man UTD and England), Joe Cole (Chelsea and England), Glenn Johnson (Portsmouth and England) Michael Carrick (Man UTD and England) Antoine Ferdinand (West Ham and England), and Frank Lampard (Chelsea and England). Glenroy will spend the week boarding at the West Ham Academy House with the West Ham Academy Players gaining the full experience of live as an Academy player at a Premier League club.

The selected players will begin training with West Ham United on Friday, March 28. Ten field players and two goalkeepers will travel to London for the intense training and experience. During their ten day venture, players will train within their corresponding West Ham Academy age group and attend English Premier League matches. The twelve players were selected by the Super Y-League’s national scouting system at the ODP National Camps. US Soccer National Team and Staff Coaches also provide feedback on who was to be recommened.

The West Ham Academy is a new initiative by the USL in 2008, this venture furthers their ongoing mission to develop an international platform for foreign clubs to connect with the North American game and provide the best opportunities for USL players with professional aspirations. The selected players will begin training with West Ham United on Friday, March 28. Ten field players and two goalkeepers will travel to London for the intense training and experience. During their ten day venture, players will train within their corresponding West Ham Academy age group and attend English Premier League matches.

United Soccer Leagues Press Release
West Ham United Academy USA Video