Soccer star fulfills one dream

By: Justin Rodriguez
RecordOnline.com

Three years ago, Steven Echevarria told his mother, Lisa, about his soccer dream. He gushed to her about someday playing at this soccer academy where he would compete against the best players in the country.

Echevarria would live there year-round, his life would revolve around soccer. Until then, Lisa Echevarria had never heard of the prestigious U.S. U-17 national residency program, which trains in Bradenton, Fla.

So, she had one question for her son: How much does it cost? Steven, beaming, told her it was all-expenses paid.

"I just told him, 'OK, sure you can go.' I didn't know how good you had to be," Lisa Echevarria said.

She does now.

Opening doors to the future

Steven Echevarria, 15, a resident of Slate Hill, has been playing with the best of the best as a member of the U-17 national residency team at IMG Academy in Bradenton since September. This is one huge dream fulfilled and it could lead to many, many more.

"When I found out I made the team, I was crying," Steven Echevarria said. "I just started crying, it was a dream come true. There are so many doors that can be opened here and that's what I hope happens. Every day is a new test. My ultimate goal is to play for a European club one day."

The U.S. residency program was started in 1999 to develop players for the national team and help them play professionally in the MLS or abroad. Echevarria hopes to play in the MLS for the Red Bulls one day, and then take his game to Europe. Alumni of the U-17 residency program include U.S. stars Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore and Oguchi Onyewu.

A day with the residency program goes something like this: Study, train, study, train. Echevarria's team scrimmages youth and professional squads from around the globe and travels the world to play.

IMG attracts thousands of students from around the world to train in tennis, soccer, baseball, golf and basketball. They pay about $40,000 per year to develop their game in Bradenton. U.S. Soccer picks up Echevarria's expenses.

"Nothing is easy, there are players here who have been to many more camps than me," said Echevarria, who has already played with the team in Spain, France and Turkey. "It's a whole different level. You have to be quick, you have no time to do anything when you have the ball. Nothing comes easy, but I got used to it. Then things just started to come naturally."

In rare company

Echevarria, a midfielder, is just the second local player to be invited to compete in the residency program. Former Newburgh Free Academy star Alex Bramall, the only two-time Varsity845 Player of the Year, trained in Bradenton with the U.S. U-17 team for a year (2007-08). He returned to Newburgh for two seasons, helping the Goldbacks win the Class AA state championship in 2009. Bramall, a midfielder who was named the Gatorade state player of the year as a senior at Newburgh and an all-American by ESPN Rise and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, was a red-shirt freshman at national power Wake Forest this fall.

"It's funny, I was just talking about Steven a few days ago," said former Middletown soccer star Reggie Warren, who coached Echevarria from age 7 to 9 in Middletown Youth Soccer. "He was definitely something special. There were two things that stood out to me back then. He really enjoyed the game and he was so athletic. Steven just picked up the game so well. What he's done, is amazing, it brings me a lot of pride."

Soccer wins out

Echevarria attended Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Middletown from Pre-K through eighth-grade. A former Orange County Parochial League basketball MVP, Echevarria played soccer for Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., as a freshman last season. He chose soccer over basketball in seventh-grade because of his height — 5-foot-7 — and became fixated on playing futbol professionally when he made that decision.

Echevarria grew up playing for Middletown club teams, before moving on to elite club powerhouses FC Westchester and Red Bulls Academy in New Jersey. He was spotted by U.S. scouts while playing with the Red Bulls and invited to a tryout with the U-17 residency team last July at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Most residency prospects play with the U.S. U-15 team before making it to Bradenton. Echevarria bypassed that important step.

"I'm really proud," Echevarria said. "Like I said, this is a dream come true. But I'm not going to get complacent. I don't want to just play for the residency team. I want to play Division I, go play for the Red Bulls (in the MLS) and go on to Europe."