Evan Godfrey, a member of the U.S. U15 Boys National Team pool, recently returned from a trip to England where he trained with Brentford, a League One side that is based in London.

“The opportunity came about as a result of me playing in the Mid Atlantic Premier Soccer [MAPS] League for three years,” Godfrey told TopDrawerSoccer.com. “Within the MAPS League, there was a division called Eastern Developmental Program. Jeff Bookman and Tony Williams developed an identification program called TIP or Training in Progress. This program was created to identify players who were not in a Development Academy but were quality players and could be candidates for the national team pool.”

Godfrey went on to say that Bookman recommended him to Brentford and the 15-year-old made the trip to London in early March for a one-week stint with the club.

“After a positive week in England, I was invited back to participate with Brentford in the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland, which takes place in late July and early August,” Godfrey said.

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The teenager said it was his first time training with a foreign club.

“The entire trip was memorable,” he said. “From the time I arrived at the stadium, meeting the players and coaches, all the training sessions, and playing the matches with a professional club in England. Knowing that I was given a chance by Brentford to play and train at a high level with professional players and being invited back by Academy Director Ose Aibangee to one of the biggest European tournaments is the most memorable.”

The defender who plays his club soccer with PDA (New Jersey) said the accountability on the players was the biggest difference he noticed between his local side and the club he trained with in England.

“The biggest difference is the accountability for everything you do from having your spikes cleaned after every session to how hard you’re working with and without the ball,” Godfrey explained. “In training sessions throughout the week, they work on all the technical areas of the game from heading to passing and finally the team approach. The players are fighting for starting position and all want to play for the first team. At club, we spend a lot of time on small-sided games and tactical of the game and preparing for college.”

Godfrey, born in 1999, received a call-up to the U.S. U14 Boys National Team last August. The defender continues to impress with PDA in the Development Academy as he has five goals in 14 games this season.

Bouncing around the Globe

Frissell and Nyger Hunter are currently training in Israel, their father Ivan Hunter tells TopDrawerSoccer.com. The boys from Georgia began training with Maccabi Tel Aviv in January and have been with the club ever since.

Ivan Hunter said that Ofir Luzon, the Maccabi Academy Director, saw the boys play in the Netherlands when they were training with FC Utrecht and invited them down to Israel.

Frissell Hunter, born in 1998, plays as a striker, while his brother, Nyger Hunter, born in 1999, plays as a center midfielder.

The Hunter brothers have also trained with Brazilian club Botafogo in the past.

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