Youth Soccer Shakeup: Ahead of the Expected End of the DA Era, Top Clubs Announce Move to Boys and Girls ECNL
An announcement of the end of the US Soccer Development Academy [USSDA] is expected soon. Reports have been circulating for over a week that the DA will be ending. Nothing has been made official as of yet [April 15, noon pacific time]. Six SoCal clubs move to ECNL Boys, more coming soon Youth soccer players […]
ALUMNI CORNER! ECNL Alum, Jordan Holt: the Younger Years
Check out the entire Alumni Corner series here Our next Alumni Corner featured player is ECNL Alumni, Jordan Holt. Huge thanks to ECNL for their partnership in Alumni Corner, and to Jordan for sharing her story. Jordan grew up in the Sacramento area. When she was young, she set a goal of playing college soccer. […]
ICC Futures Update: LAFC Slammers to Face Barcelona in Semi-Final Sat Dec14
The ICC Futures tournament is rolling into Semi-Finals on December 14th at the IMG Academy in Florida In a re-match of last year’s ECNL championship match, LAFC Slammers faced off against East Coast powerhouse PDA on Thursday December 12th during ICC Futures group play. PDA topped LAFC Slammers in the ECNL final 3-2 earlier this […]
Different Paths, Same Destination: NCAA Women’s Soccer Final 4
The NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Final 4 kicks off Friday at 4PM Pacific on ESPNU And then there were four. Stanford, UCLA, Washington State, and North Carolina make up the NCAA Division One Women’s Soccer Final Four. I spent some time looking through the rosters for all four teams, and what I found may […]
Why DMCV Sharks Joined ECNL. One word: Community
Established in 1970, Del Mar Carmel Valley Sharks remain a mainstay in the Southern California soccer world. Five years ago, Warren Barton joined DMCV Sharks. Since then, he’s been helping the Sharks continue to grow and improve. Sharks have a thriving recreational youth program, and they have teams in various competitive SoCal leagues, including ECNL. […]
ECNL & DA. Is it just about high school soccer? (Spoiler alert: NO)
Fall League Soccer is in full swing. After a summer full of playoffs and tournaments, soccer leagues across the country are now in full-swing. Competitive youth soccer players will be spending their weekends on soccer fields nation-wide. They will be battling for wins, league titles, and the improvement that comes along with highly competitive matches. […]
College Soccer, and SD Homegrown, on SCTop10
Local San Diego homegrown player, Sydney Sparks, made it onto ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 #6 With a rocket of a shot from the center circle, Sydney Sparks launched onto the nation-wide Sports Center Top 10. Her goal against DePaul left notched into the top left corner of the goal, leaving the DePaul goalie on the […]
Abby Wambach on the Importance of High School Soccer
Abby Wambach is a soccer legend. Olympic Gold Medalist. World Cup Champion. NCAA D1 Champion. And, back in the day, she got to play soccer for her high school. Today’s soccer players have a new and difficult choice to make. Like most of her soccer peers, and the “99ers” who paved the way, she played […]
Women’s World Cup Final: Preview from the Expert
There may not be a better person in the world to preview the 2019 Women’s World Cup Final. From 2009 until late 2017, Mirelle van Rijbroek was the director of all things girls’ youth soccer in the Netherlands. She trained, coached, and was an important part of the Dutch girls’ youth system that eventually became […]
SOPHIE JONES NAMED GATORADE NATIONAL GIRLS SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sophie Jones, future Blue Devil The Gatorade Player of the Year program recognizes the nation’s most elite high school athletes for their accomplishments on and off the field. The 2019 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year is future Duke Blue Devil, Sophie Jones. Sophie Jones, an interview with SoccerNation Gatorade just announced the […]
American Soccer: Using Our Strengths and Addressing Our Challenges (Part 1)
A conversation with the Director of Talent Identification for US Soccer, Mirelle van Rijbroek The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup has kicked off in France. Leading up to this Women’s World Cup, I asked van Rijbroek the hard question: Who does she think will win the championship? She answered, “Well, I hope we do, of […]
Salvo Soccer Club and Soccerloco Partner to Serve the Minnesota Soccer Community #SalvoFamily
Two Minnesota Clubs, REV SC and Woodbury SC, have merged to become Salvo SC The english definition of the word “Salvo” is “a spirited, coordinated attack.” Salvo can also mean “a round of cheers or applause.” Two Minnesota clubs, REV SC and Woobury SC, realized they could better serve their communities by joining together, and […]
Surf Soccer Club Sends Seniors off in Style
High school athletes in America love “Senior Day.” It is a cherished tradition. For soccer players who have chosen to play in the Development Academy, however, “Senior Day” is one item in the long list of sacrifices made to purse the highest levels of their sport. The “High School vs DA” debate marches on, and […]
College Recruiting: ScoutingZone at the Girls DA Showcase and Beyond
I’ll get straight to the point. If you want to play college soccer and your showcase works with ScoutingZone, you’d better have your FREE ScoutingZone profile up to date. ScoutingZone has been working for years on improving and refining their system. As a result, the top recruiting showcases are now working with SZ to get […]
How do they do it? Crossfire Premier Fully Funds Their Top DA Teams
Among the landscape of US Soccer Development Academy programs, non-MLS clubs are constantly struggling to compete with professional clubs that fully fund their DA programs. Most (not all) MLS Development Academy teams are fully funded by the parent club, meaning their DA players have no out-of-pocket costs. Travel. Club fees. Coaching fees. Food. Uniforms. Even […]
“Honestly, it’s the parents who want HS soccer.” Club coach describes his view of DA vs High School
I recently spent time with a high level girls soccer team who joined the girls’ DA in the inaugural 2017 season. This team is full of NCAA D1 commits, and even a few US Soccer National Team selectees. The girls began their high school years in the ECNL (Elite Clubs National League). A top-level club coach […]