From the age of five, Kenny Kolbeck of Derry, knew he wanted to be the best soccer player around. North Andover's Christian Sady started at age six and realized quickly he wanted to play in college.
They are already playing for the New England Revolution. Well, the Revs' competitive developmental program. Best of all, it's free.
"Look at it from my mom and dad's perspective," explained Kolbeck, the 2008 Eagle-Tribune MVP and current Revs U-18 team member. "They had to finance three trips a year (with his former club team). Hotels, plane trips, buses, food — that's a lot of money.
"But that's all paid for by the Revolution. You can't ask for anything better than that."
"The program (in its second year) is supported by the Kraft family 100 percent financially," said Karl Edmonds, former Director of Player Development with Seacoast United and current Director of Youth Development with the Revs. "Every Major League Soccer team has Academy teams playing in the United States Developmental Program, and our goal is to find players in the New England area good enough to play for the MLS team. All our Academy players are protected and will play for the Revs if they're good enough."
"Entering my senior year, I had my goals written down," Kolbeck said. "I wanted to be the best soccer player in the state. I wanted to sweep all of the state awards — All-American, Gatorade Player of the Year, Eagle-Tribune Player of the Year (all of which was accomplished).
"How could I do that? How could I separate myself from the pack? The Revolution was that choice. The coaching staff is top of the line and professional aura of the club is amazing. I wanted to play the best in New England and the level of competition is very strong."
An important philosophy with the Revolution for player development is simple — practice more than the games you play. The players currently work out three days a week in Foxboro and recently traveled to Arizona for a weekend to prepare for a 23-game schedule starting Feb. 13.
"We're trying to bring these philosophies into line with the best programs in the world," said Edmonds.
Participating with the Revs, where the region's talent pool is so centralized, gets the attention of college programs throughout the country.
"The Revs play in showcases throughout the country that are attended by virtually every college and national coach in the country," Sady, who turns 15 in January, said. "The exposure to college coaches is much greater with the Revs than at BB&N (where Sady was a varsity starter as an eighth grader last fall)."
Sady is already a veteran of high-level soccer. He was one of 36 players on the U-14 national team, which played several exhibition games in Mexico last January. He is joined on the Revs' U-16 team by BB&N freshman goalie Ryan Simpson, another North Andoverite.
"I've been talking to BU, Villanova and Rutgers right now," the 18-year old Kolbeck explained. "With who the Revs are associated with, with so many ties everywhere, they help you get connected to the right people."
And as appealing as top-flight training can be, playing home games at Gillette Stadium has its own cache.
"Every kids' dream is to play at the highest level possible whatever that is," said Kolbeck, who is a captain. "I'm a die-hard Revs fan and I'll always be a Revs fan. I hope to always be connected in some way to this organization."
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