The Hartford Athletic Youth Academy strives to provide a pathway to professional soccer for top local talent in the New England and Tri-state area. The Club has expanded to hold eight boys youth academy teams, including U8, U10, U11, U12, U13, U14, U15, U16, U17, and U19 teams that play under the club’s current academy structure.
Hartford Athletic Youth Academy teams benefit from many resources the Club provides including training in a professional environment at the world-class Day Hill Dome in Windsor, Connecticut, and Trinity Health Stadium in downtown Hartford. Players will have access to first-team coaches and players, season tickets to first-team matches, and more. Hartford Athletic Academy teams currently compete in the USL, UPSL, and Elite Developmental Program.
Have questions about our academy? Please send an email to academy@hartfordathletic.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
Academy Contract Signings
Over six seasons, 11 young players from Hartford Athletic’s Academy have signed professional contracts with the first team.
Hartford Athletic signed defender 18-year-old Agnaldo Germano (Naugatuck, CT) and forward 17-year-old Kauan Ribeiro (Bridgeport, CT) to USL Academy contracts on September 6th, 2024. Both players played on Hartford Athletic Academy’s U19 team, and had been training with the First Team throughout this season.
Ali Taleb signed with Hartford Athletic’s academy in March of 2023. He captained the U19 team with 11 goals and five assists through nine games. He now plays for American International College, winning NE10 Men’s Soccer Rookie of the Year.
DiCarlo joined Athletic’s academy in February of 2023. He was an All-State goalie in the state of Connecticut his senior year of high school and now competes for the University of Dayton soccer team.
Dren signed with the academy twice between 2022 and 2023. Dobruna appeared in multiple matches for Hartford. In his eight competitions, the 17-year-old tallied an assist.
Signing with Hartford in 2021, Pliszka signed again in 2022 and competed with the club through 2023. He is currently a sophomore, playing collegiately for Boston College.
Shaul joined Hartford Athletic’s academy in January of 2024 at 18 years old. He competed for MLS Next side Portland Timbers 2 in 2022 and was an MLS Next All-Star starter. He made six appearances for Hartford Athletic in the 2024 season (the most of any player on an Academy contract in club history) before leaving to play at Notre Dame in the fall.
Signing with Athletic in early 2022, O’Brien made an appearance for the club in the U.S. Open Cup. He finished his freshman college season at Providence College, tallying three goals and seven assists. He was named Big East Freshman of the Week in September of 2023.
Rouse signed with the club before the 2022 season at just 16 years old. He has committed to compete collegiately at Grand Canyon University.
Hot was one of the earliest academy signings for Hartford, inking his contract in 2021. Now a sophomore at Duke University, he is a consistent starter and was named All-Freshman Third Team by College Soccer News. He was also ranked No. 2 on TopDrawerSoccer’s Postseason Freshman Top-100.
Ponce-Ocampo joined the academy in 2022 at just 17 years of age. He just finished his freshman college season at Georgetown University.
Academy Stories
Questions?
Have questions about our academy? Please send an email to academy@hartfordathletic.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
