Players from Bermuda’s Warwick Archers Youth Football (Robin Hood FC) are participating in the Jefferson Cup Boys Showcase event in Richmond, Virginia over April 1-3, 2022. Xhavi DeRoza and Olek Rymon-Lipinski have been invited to join the New England Surf Club State Select (Massachusetts) Under 15s team through a mutual partnership that both organizations have established with International Development Academy.
The Tournament accepts over 1600 teams from around 36 States throughout the United States. In 2020, the Jefferson Cup Boys Showcase Weekend was ranked the #5 overall youth tournament and the #4 boys in the United States. In 2021, the Jefferson Cup Boys Tournament Weekend was ranked the #3 overall youth tournament and the #3 boys in the United States.
Each year the tournament draws an average of over 150 State Cup Champions, over 10 Regional Champions, and over 5 National Champions per year throughout the nine age groups. In 2020, 350 Boys College Coaches and 500 Girls College Coaches, attended the Jefferson Cup, achieving record numbers for the 9th year in a row for both boys and girls weekends.
The Warwick Archers have been working with IDA as a development partner over the past three years, with IDA coaches coming to Bermuda to hold ID camps and assist with pre-season training. IDA helps student-athletes find football & educational pathways that’s right for them, building an environment for growth, development, and success on and off the field. They offer unique college placement services and have residential program in Spain, Italy, England and the United States.
Xhavi DeRoza is an attacking-minded player who currently attends South Kent school in Connecticut, and Olek Rymon-Lipinski is a midfield / defender who attends Mount Saint Agnes school in Bermuda. Both players have been members of the successful Warwick Archers program over the past three years, and were identified from past visits to Bermuda by the IDA coaches. Rymon-Lipinski is the captain of the current U15 Lee Holder Cup Championship team, and DeRoza was captain of the 2021 U13 Gregory Grimes Cup championship team. The players will play matches against opponents from New York, Washington DC and Virginia over the weekend.
The Warwick Archers program director, Richard Todd, is delighted to see the opportunity being provided to local players. “Through our partnership with IDA these young men will gain valuable experience competing against strong opposition, as well as gain exposure to college coaches in attendance. This is just one of the ways that we assist our players with their developmental needs and identifying educational pathways through football. The covid pandemic prevented us from providing these opportunities over the past two years, but we are excited to be moving back towards regular and more frequent chances for our players. Our partnership with IDA has provided us with a network of organizations who are linked together through a mutual relationship with IDA. I am confident that both players will contribute significantly to the team’s performances at the event over the weekend.”
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