{"id":3666,"date":"2011-03-12T22:39:28","date_gmt":"2011-03-13T03:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=3666"},"modified":"2011-03-12T22:50:35","modified_gmt":"2011-03-13T03:50:35","slug":"denormandie-determined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=3666","title":{"rendered":"DeNormandie determined"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – During last Saturday’s Revolution U-18 match against the NJSA\u00a004\u00a0U-18s, forward Cole DeNormandie found just about every which way not <\/em>to score.<\/p>\n

Whether it was a sublime header, a sneaky shot, or a rocket from distance, DeNormandie\u00a0did well to\u00a0put each one on frame. But,\u00a0all he could do was shake his head as the NJSA 04 keeper make one acrobatic save after another.<\/p>\n

“I’m sure he’s disappointed that he wasn’t able to connect on them,” said Revolution U-18 head coach John Frederick. “But, he’s connected in previous matches and he’s got a bright future ahead of him.”<\/p>\n

That future wasn’t nearly as bright when DeNormandie first showed up for his Academy tryout in 2009. Unlike some of his peers, the teenager arrived to the tryout with a touch of anxiety.<\/p>\n

“The first tryout I was a little nervous,” said DeNormandie.\u00a0“I ended up doing alright, but it was hard to get into a rhythm when you’re playing with kids you’ve never played with before.”<\/p>\n

It was an early lesson that the Lincoln, MA native learned, and later accepted, if he was to succeed at a higher level.<\/p>\n

“It was definitely good,”\u00a0said DeNormandie.\u00a0“You have to do it if you want to make the team. The tryout counts.”<\/p>\n

Although the 6-1 striker was\u00a0thrilled to get the call about earning a spot at the Academy, he also understood that the real work was still ahead of him.<\/p>\n

“It was a good feeling (to make the Academy),” said DeNormandie. “I was excited, but I think it was also like ‘on to the next thing’\u00a0for me. You know, once you make the team –\u00a0now you have to perform.”<\/p>\n

Performing\u00a0well\u00a0wasn’t a problem at all for the\u00a0striker. During his first season with the U-16s, he scored 10 goals and added three assists\u00a0in 28 matches during the 2009-10 U.S. Soccer Development Academy campaign.<\/p>\n

One person who’s been impressed with DeNormandie’s performances since that tryout is Frederick.<\/p>\n

“Cole’s a really talented athlete,” said Frederick.\u00a0“Physically, he’s very gifted, he’s strong and fast, really improved on the ground with the ball and he’s more and more dangerous.”<\/p>\n

DeNormandie has remained dangerous even at the U-18 level. Through eight matches this season, the 17-year-old has a pair of goals and would probably have at least two more had it not been for a couple of impressive saves at the hands of the NJSA 04 keeper.<\/p>\n

While his goalscoring rate may be somewhat lower this season, the striker has acknowledged that the transition from the U-16 to the U-18 level has been more of a challenge than he initially expected – and it has nothing to do with the escalating talent level.<\/p>\n

“The games have been tough,” said DeNormandie. “Going into 90 minute (matches at the U-18 level), this is my first season doing that so I think once you get to the final five minutes in each half, it’s kind of a fight because it’s usually not there so it’s about getting your fitness up and getting used to that. That’s probably been the toughest part.”<\/p>\n

Despite the growing pains, early buzz has projected DeNormandie, who will play his college soccer at the University of Cincinnati in the fall, as a potential candidate for reserve league action with the senior squad this spring given his size and skills. It’s an opportunity that the teenager is particularly eager about.<\/p>\n

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to play with the reserves this spring,” said DeNormandie.\u00a0“The coaches said that a couple of players will be able to come and play with the reserves.”<\/p>\n

Of course, DeNormandie will be content with playing for the reserves for so long. Even though he’s still in high school, the tall and physical forward is already eyeing the next step.<\/p>\n

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to get onto the first team,” said DeNormandie. “That’s a big goal of mine.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cole DeNormandie hopes to wrap up his final season with the Revs U-18s with a stint alongside the senior squad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/cole2.jpg?fit=2592%2C1552&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3666"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3731,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666\/revisions\/3731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}