Utah Youth Soccer's Matt Gay is off to Bradenton, Florida, home of U.S. Soccer’s Under-17 Men's National Team (MNT) Residency Program. After being evaluated by U.S. National Team Scouts at the recent Region IV ODP Championships, Matt was identified as a possible candidate for the U.S. U-17 MNT Residency Program. Gay will be in Bradenton for a week where U-17 Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera will evaluate and decide if Matt has what it takes to stay in full-time residency. The U-17 MNT is currently preparing for the 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championships and the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico.

Matt is a member of La Roca Futbol Club and the '94 Region IV and State ODP Teams. If selected, Matt will not only be the first player from Utah in the program, but he will join an elite group of players including Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, Landon Donovan, Oguchi Onyewu and Jonathan Spector just to name a few.

The U.S. U-17 Residency Program has given players an excellent opportunity to grow and move up the ladder in the world of soccer and become professionals in Major League Soccer, some of the biggest clubs in Europe, and even make an impact on the full U.S. Men's National Team. The program in Bradenton provides players with an environment where they can prosper as individual players and gel as a team.

Utah Youth Soccer wishes Matt the best of luck, as he helps further Utah Youth Soccer's emergence on to the national and international soccer scene.

For more information on the U.S. U-17 MNT Residency Program, please visit: www.ussoccer.com