Ed. note: This represents the first in a five-part series on the youth and development tracks of the U.S. 23-man roster. The series will run through Friday and break down how each player got his start. 

Jozy Alitdore

F Jozy Altidore, Sunderland
Date of birth: Nov. 6, 1989 (24)
Pre-professional club history: Boca Raton Juniors SC, Schulz Academy
YNT history: U17 residency (2004-2006), U20 MNT (2007), U23 MNT (2008)
Big moment: 2004 Dallas Cup
First professional appearance: August 26, 2006 (New York Red Bulls)

Notes: The year 2004 was a big one in Altidore’s developmental history. He exploded onto the national scene by leading Schulz Academy to a runner-up finish in the Dallas Cup, and he joined the U17 residency program in Bradenton later that year. Josef Schulz is the man credited with discovering Altidore playing a pickup game when he was 8, and he stepped onto the national scene for good seven years later. Altidore’s was among the last generation of national team players who weren’t channeled through the sub-U17 ranks before joining residency, so in some sense there’s a developmental ellipses tacked onto the front of Altidore’s youth national team career.

M/D DaMarcus Beasley, Puebla
Date of birth: May 24, 1982 (32)
Pre-professional club history: Fort Wayne Citadel
YNT history: U17 residency (1998-1999), U20 MNT (2001)
Big moment: 1999 U17 World Cup
First professional appearance: March 18, 2000 (Chicago Fire)

Notes: With Landon Donovan’s USMNT exit this year, there aren’t many leftovers from the 1999 U17 team that finished above Uruguay at the World Cup and made it to the third place game. In fact, it’s been whittled down to just Beckerman and Beasley, who won the silver ball in New Zealand to stake his claim as a future USMNT fixture. Beasley jumped from high school after his sophomore year and finished at the newly minted residency program in Bradenton over his final two years of school before leaping to the Fire via the Galaxy for four years. That 1999 U17 team is legendary in YNT circles, and in that sense Beasley’s legacy is already secure. Four World Cups later, there’s no danger of it slipping.

M Kyle Beckerman, Real Salt Lake
Date of birth: April 23, 1982 (32)
Pre-professional club history: Bowie Bulldogs, Laurel Wildcats
YNT history: U17 residency (1999) U20 MNT (2000)
Big moment: 1999 U17 World Cup
First professional appearance: March 18, 2000 (Miami Fusion)

Notes: Like Beasley, Beckerman’s call-up to a U17 MNT side that finished fourth at a World Cup did a lot for his reputation and visibility. In June 2000, that paid off when he accepted a 4 1/2-year offer from MLS that carried him through the Fusion folding and his first few years with the Colorado Rapids. He talked at the time about a possible move to Hertha Berlin, but he found a comfortable home in MLS and flourished in a transition from attacking midfielder, where he played for much of his club career. Beckerman was part of the residency at a special time in its history, and it hasn’t caught that kind of lightning in a bottle since. Hard to believe, but 15 years ago Beckerman’s two-year march from U17 to U20 to full national team was considered foundational.

M Alejandro Bedoya, Nantes
Date of birth: April 29, 1987 (27)
Pre-professional club history: Weston FC
YNT history: U23 (2008)
College history: Fairleigh Dickinson (2005-2006), Boston College (2007-2008)
First professional appearance: April 6, 2009 (Orebro)

Notes: Weston FC president Steve Ziegler is the man credited with unearthing Bedoya’s talent after his family moved to Florida early in his life. Bedoya began playing with Weston when he was 8, and by the time he joined the talented St. Thomas Aquinas High School squad he’d already begun to mature into one of the best players in the state. On the international level, Bedoya is the consummate late bloomer. He wasn’t invited to a YNT side until he was called in for a U23 training camp in advance of the 2008 Olympics. He didn’t even make the team as an alternate - he was camp fodder. Bedoya was one of the last cuts for the 2010 World Cup roster, and his late arrival didn’t help his cause. In lieu of YNT experience, he supplemented his development with two college stints and an immediate move across the pond.

D Matt Besler, Sporting KC
Date of birth: Feb. 11, 1987 (27)
Pre-professional club history: KCFC Alliance
YNT history: U20 (2006)
College history: Notre Dame (2005-2008)
First professional appearance: March 28, 2009 (Kansas City Wizards)

Notes: Like Bedoya, Besler’s national team career track wasn’t laid down until later in his career. Besler did ODP instead of YNT camps early in his career, and he wasn’t called into a national team until he made one appearance with the U20 MNT in 2006. Even after that brief stint, Besler didn’t garner another substantive look until four years after his Notre Dame career drew to a close. He was called up for the first time in August, 2012 and didn’t feature on the field until the following January. This is probably one of the last World Cups where a majority of the U.S. roster didn’t follow any discernible YNT track. Besler was hardly a known quantity on the national team level until his mid-20s, and he spent zero time getting to know the U.S. system before being launched into the first team program.

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