As coaches, our job is to coach and train players of all levels and not to just look for elite players.

USYF Academy program finalized its first year at the 2019 National Showcase in June; the first year delivered great results to all registrants. The first year included these milestones and more:

• Hosting National Academy showcase
• Coaches symposium with a World Champion Coach 
• 23 Academies receiving academy benefits

Benefits to players are immediate and impactful. Education is a continuous process and requires consistency. An Academy environment provides repetition and formal evaluation to effectively help evolve youth players.

 An Academy environment challenges players to perform, yet provides real-time opportunities to learn from mistakes, which is a natural and necessary part of development. Players are afforded the unique opportunity of training and competing with similarly-skilled players from other soccer clubs. The Academy focuses on year-round development, cutting-edge training curriculums, and provides players multiple opportunities for exposure on a regional, national and even international level.

The Academy is a flagship program for USYF and the goals in the next 3 years are:

• To make the program the real pinnacle of the USYF system
• To ensure high level competition in every region by growing all regions
• To support the Academies’ development on all fronts
• To attain a sustainable model for all Academies, existing and new

• A planned Regional and National schedule:
• Season calendar released by August 1 every season
• Schedule will adapt to reality of each region
• Allow for voluntary cross-regional competition
• Communication
• NEW website – launched August 2019
• A sustainable model:
  • Involve Academies in the decision-making process
  • Reasonable travel & competition expenses
  • A two-way growth plan per region – requirements and commitments
  • Share resources
  • Consulting
  • Business templates
  • Shared curriculums