PRESS RELEASE – Guam Football Association’s National Academy coaches will be looking for the next group of elite youth soccer athletes for the second year of the award-winning program in open tryout sessions this week at the GFA National Training Center.

All youth soccer athletes from the under-8, under-10 and under-12 age groups are eligible to try out for acceptance into the program. Tryouts for the under-8 age group will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday, while tryouts for the under-10 age group will be held 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The under-12 age group tryout will be held 5 p.m. Thursday.

Registration forms are available at the GFA Main Office or for download on the GuamFootball.com Web site. The fee to register is $25 and includes one T-shirt for the tryout sessions. Registration and payment is due at least 30 minutes before the scheduled tryout session.

The National Academy program, the recipient of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports 2012 Outstanding Youth Sports Program, graduated its inaugural year athletes Feb. 15 in a closing ceremony at GFA. The program’s second year will see some changes as per feedback from athletes, parents and coaches. Instead of a five-day per week commitment, the program will run three days per week. Each day session still will include time for reciting the Inifresi, or pledge, singing of the Guam hymn, homework and a light, nutritional snack and drink before a training session with designated, licensed coaches using a modern academy training curriculum.

Selected players will be contacted for an orientation session after tryouts. The second year’s first of four cycles will begin March 11 through to May 3.

Awards from Jamaican Grill restaurant will be presented to the top performers from both the boys division and the girls division after each cycle.

For inquiries regarding the program, contact the GFA Main Office by calling 637-4321 or send an E-mail to info@guamfootball.com