Tournament Forecast: Tormenta FC Aims for Success at USL Academy Cup

STATESBORO, Ga. – South Georgia Tormenta FC will be heading down to Hillsborough County Tournament SportsPlex in Tampa, Florida, on May 28-31, 2021, bringing a U-17 Girls team, a U-17 Boys team and a U-13 Boys team to compete in the 2021 USL Academy Cup, presented by Puma.

The USL Academy Cup is an elite youth tournament, featuring high-level players from teams across North America. One of Tormenta FC's top prospects appearing at this weekend's tournament will be Tyler Bisseck, who signed a USL League One Academy Contract in March with and has recently made appearances for Tormenta FC 2 in USL League Two.

The USL Academy Cup is an elite youth tournament, featuring high-level players from teams across North America. One of Tormenta FC’s top prospects appearing at this weekend’s tournament will be Tyler Bisseck, who signed a USL League One Academy Contract in March with and has recently made appearances for Tormenta FC 2 in USL League Two.

Last year, the Tormenta FC U-17 Boys team finished the USL Academy Eastern Conference Event in Florida undefeated and at the top of the Premier Group. The team earned big wins against Louisville City FC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and tied FC Miami City, and will be looking to build upon that success in this year's tournament.

The newly-created Tormenta FC U-17 Girls team was created following the club's inaugural Girls Training Center Program, which provided a platform for the players to show off their talents to the Tormenta FC coaching staff.

The cup competition will see academy teams from clubs in all three senior divisions of the USL represented, with clubs from the Championship, League One and League Two as well as representation from MLS clubs all competing against one another to represent a growing footprint that reaches 22 states across the country. These events will be designed to better identify and accelerate the development of elite youth players with the potential to reach the professional ranks. In addition, a U-17 Girls Division will be included at this year’s event, after the USL announced a complementary women’s pathway to the overall Academy platform in 2019. This new female-specific age group will serve to further enhance the mission of USL to provide proven pathways for all players, especially with the continued growth of the women’s game at the senior team levels.

As these 74 youth teams prepare to take the pitch for the 2021 USL Academy Cup national tournament, 60+ USL clubs will also be kicking off the first-ever regular season of the USL Academy League this spring. Among those 60 clubs, Tormenta FC will be competing in the Southeast Division for the inaugural USL Academy League season with Nick Jaramillo at the helm. As announced in 2020, this new pre-professional league will serve as a direct pathway for top teenage talents to enter the ranks of the USL senior teams in the Championship, League One and League Two while also providing clubs a reserve team experience.

Committed to raising the level of soccer locally and across the country, Tormenta FC Academy has programs available from age two all the way up to age 19 and is the only youth academy in South Georgia and the Lowcountry of South Carolina with a path to the professional ranks. Over the years, TFC Academy has helped many talented players on their paths to higher levels of the game, whether it be Indiana Vassilev in the English Premier League with Aston Villa FC, Paolo Alcocer in the Bolivian Primera División with Club Bolívar or James Brighton, a rising talent in the collegiate ranks at Clemson University. In 2019, midfielder Tristan DeLoach became the first TFC Academy talent to sign a professional academy contract with the professional USL League One team, followed by his peers, midfielder Grant Hampton and goalkeeper Stephen O’Hearn in 2020 and Brittain Gottlieb and Tyler Bisseck in 2021.

For more information on conference alignment and to stay up to date on the competition structure, schedule release, and more, visit www.usl-academy.com/academy-cup. To learn more about Tormenta FC’s inaugural USL Academy League season, vist: https://www.tormentafc.com/usl-academy.

The newly-created Tormenta FC U-17 Girls team was created following the club’s inaugural Girls Training Center Program, which provided a platform for the players to show off their talents to the Tormenta FC coaching staff.

For updates, highlights and commentary throughout the tournament, fans can follow Tormenta FC Academy on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or check out USL-Academy.com or follow @USL_Academy on Twitter.

All USL Academy Cup matches will be streamed live via MuscoVision, while all matches can be viewed at a later date via Veo.

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