The Red Bulls Academy will expand its Regional Development School programming as it adds six new fulltime, regionally based teams in 2017, the club announced Thursday.

The Red Bulls youth programs have developed players for the Red Bulls’ first team. As the pre-Academy feeder system, the RDS was integral to the identification of first-team players such as Tyler Adams, Evan Louro, and Arun Basuljevic, as well as others for NYRB II, the club’s United Soccer League affiliate.

Over the past 10 years, the program has provided the springboard for more than 150 players to progress to Red Bulls Academy teams.

Tryouts for the 2007 and 2008 birth-year RDS regional team will be held throughout March and April, with league play commencing this September.

For more information, visit: http://www.redbullsacademy.com/training/rds/rds-regional-teams.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.