It's a day for celebration, a day for looking toward the future, and a moment when all of the hard work finally pays off.

Wednesday marked National Signing Day for 10 players from the Colorado Rapids Development Academy and Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club as they signed letters of intent to play soccer at colleges and universities around the country.

"This is a very important day for us as a club," Senior Director of Soccer Development Brian Crookham said. "Seeing a large number of players commit to furthering their education, while using the sport of soccer to get into the right place means a lot to us, and it is an important part of their pathways not only on the soccer side but in life."

Of the 10 players who put pen to paper in front of friends and family at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park, six girls were products of the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club.

"To see the large increase on the girls side who signed today was very encouraging and important for our club," Crookham continued. "On the boys side, the fact that we had some really big names school represented speaks to the level of work these guys put in every day. We believe that this is a pathway not only to their education, but a pathway that will allow them to stay on track given the schools and programs they are attending, to eventually have a chance to become professionals."

Trevor Mowry, a member of the US national team U-17s, chose to attend California Polytechnic State University. Mowry has trained with the first team on multiple occasions, and captained the Rapids U-15s and U-16s squads during the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons.

Milo Garvanian from George Washington High School will be heading to Chapel Hill this fall. He'll join a proud soccer program that advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Division I College Cup for the second straight season.

Striker Matthew Hundley will be heading to UCLA this fall. In the first half of the 2017/18 US Soccer Development Academy season, Hundley scored 12 goals in 13 appearances (all starts). He also earned a call-up to the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup Men’s National team camp.

Greg Tracey from Pomona High School will head west as he signed with the University of Portland. Not in attendance were Liam Johnson and Stefan DeLeone who followed in the footsteps of Kortne Ford and Sam Hamilton as they enrolled a semester early to play at the University of Denver.

To keep up-to-date with the Rapids Academy, click HERE, or visit @RapidsAcademy on Twitter.

Colorado Rapids Development Academy

PLAYER HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE Trevor Mowry University Schools California Polytechnic State University Milo Garvanian George Washington High School University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill Greg Tracey Pomona High School University of Portland Matthew Hundley Arapahoe High School UCLA

Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club