A member of the Madison 56er U14 Boys Red team got one of the best Christmas presents any young soccer player could hope for: an invitation to join U.S. Soccer's national team. Benjamin Borns-Moore, who attends Madison's Wingra School, joined 35 other fourteen-year-old players at the U.S. national camp January 20-27, which was held in Guadalajara, Mexico. He expects to continue to play around the country and maybe the world for U.S. Soccer in the year ahead, as well as with his 56er team.

Ben Borns-Moore, the son of Mark Borns and Lorrie Moore, was one of only four Midwestern players to be selected for the team, and the only player from Wisconsin to be named to the team. Ben is also only the second player from the 56ers and the Madison area to ever be named to the national team — the first was UW-Madison standout Aaron Holbein.

"The odds of making the national team are amazing," says Mark Borns. "Ben had to make it past state and regional competitions to be selected as a member of the Region II (Midwest) U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program team, which comprised just 18 of the 430 boys who attended regional camp. " The Midwest regional included top players from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Over the Thanksgiving school break, Borns-Moore joined the Region II team in Florida for an inter-regional tournament between the best players from the Midwest, South, East and West. Following that, Borns-Moore was named to the Aididas All Star team. "He was one of only 18 boys named from his age group from the entire group at the tournament," says his father. One week later, the Madison 56ers Soccer Club's U14 Boys Red team striker was named to the U.S. Soccer national team. All expenses are paid for by U.S. Soccer and its Olympic Development Program (ODP) sponsors.

Benjamin Borns-Moore

According to 56ers Coaching Director John Reddan, "56ers players and coaches have won many state, regional, and even national honors, and we are especially proud to have a player from our U14 boys team represent the club and our nation in international competitions in the months to come."