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. […]
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 […]
“ECNL has more to offer our girls.” Why Crossfire Premier Is Leaving the Girls’ DA

The US Soccer Girls Development Academy recently announced the arrival of six new clubs into the Girls’ DA program. While clubs are joining the Girls’s DA, more than a few clubs have decided to leave and have all of their top girls’ teams compete in the ECNL (Elite Clubs National League). One of those clubs […]
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 […]
Why does the Development Academy Bar Players from High School Soccer?

US Soccer Director of Talent Identification explains why DA players can not play for their high schools. The Boys’ Development Academy started in 2007, and the Girls’ Development Academy started in 2017. Since then, many families strongly disagree with US Soccer’s directive that DA players are not permitted to play for their high school teams […]
Ten Development Academy Youth Clubs Band Together to Form New League

In an effort to improve the infrastructure of youth player development, ten elite youth clubs, all members of U.S. Soccer’s Girls Development Academy, have joined forces to launch the Development Player League Academy II. Albion SC, LA Galaxy, Legends SC, LA Galaxy SD, Eagles SC, LA Premier FC, SC Del Sol, Beach FC, Real So Cal […]