U.S. Soccer Development Academy

Joining An Academy Club

For players to join the Academy, they must first join one of the member clubs. The Academy suggests any interested player should contact the club directly for specific information about joining the club. Clubs can be found based on age group within the three regional conferences.

Clubs must apply directly to the Academy through the ussoccerda.com. Applications for the Boys' clubs are available in early fall on the Development Academy website. Accepted clubs join the Academy the following fall season.

History

The U.S. Soccer Development Academy was founded in 2007, after a comprehensive review of elite player development conducted by the USSF, to serve as the top tier for youth soccer in the United States and provide an elite everyday environment for player development. The organization was created as a partnership between U.S. Soccer and top level clubs across the country, emphasizing increased training with more competitive games versus more games in general, with the ultimate goal of producing world-class players.

In addition, the league serves to connect national team coaches at all age levels directly with elite youth players, while also serving as a venue for advanced coaching and referee development.

The league is unique from other professional soccer leagues domestically, as it runs on a winter-based schedule. The season generally begins in September and ends in June or July. There is usually a hiatus in January and February, and players have the summer off. Most of the clubs are associated with professional teams, either in North America through MLS, the NASL or the USL, or with European clubs. The professional teams cover most, if not all of the fees, while the academies offer a pipeline of talent to the professional club.

The league also welcomed two Canadian teams, the respective academy sides for the professional clubs of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the Montreal Impact of MLS. The only MLS club whose youth teams do not participate in the league is Toronto FC.

The DA is celebrating its 10th season, and unveiled a new logo this fall. The logo features an inextricable link to the U.S. Soccer crest, as well as features the letters "DA" for Development Academy. The forward and upward motion of the logo's shape signifies the strategic growth and direction of the program. Additionally, the four stripes represent the four pillars of the Development Academy: excellence, pride, tradition, and education.

Growth and development

U.S. Soccer's new Player Development Initiatives (PDIs) are geared towards giving players the right tools to succeed and develop to the best of their abilities in age appropriate environments. For more information about best practices, the Birth Year Mandate, and further resources, please visit the U.S. Soccer Player Development Initiatives homepage.

Coaching Education

The Academy also offers U.S. Soccer coaching education resources and licenses through the Digital Coaching Center.

U-12 Program

The Development Academy expanded to include the U-12 age group in the fall of 2016. The U-12 Academy program improves the training environment for players at younger ages by providing more and higher quality training, more meaningful yet less total games, and age-appropriate learning environments.

U-13 and U-14 Single Age Group

The Development Academy split the U-13/14 age group into single age groups to create foundation of the pathway at U-13, and U-14 to focus on individual player development. This will provide the base for a long-term streamlined pathway with flexibility to move players between rosters within the club, a better transition period for players from 9v9 to 11v11, and include late developers.

The U-13 Academy Program follows the same schedule as the current U-13/14 program, consisting of divisional play, futsal training, and a regional showcase event.

Girls Development Academy

The Development Academy is pleased to announce that 74 clubs will join the Girls' Development Academy in the inaugural season of fall 2017. The Girls' Development Academy is part of U.S. Soccer's global leadership position in women's soccer and connects with its long-term plan to improve player and coach development. Initially the program will include three age groups, U-14/15, U-16/17 and U-18/19. The mission of the program is to provide education, resources and support to directly impact the everyday environment for clubs to develop world-class female players.

Academy Structure

The schedule of the Development Academy consists of a ten-month season which begins in September and finishes with championships in July. Clubs will take a break in league play during the winter due to weather conditions, but most continue to train. During the season each academy team will expect to play between 25 and 30 games. These games are typically within the clubs' respective divisions with the exception of showcase and playoff games. The U-15/16 and U-17/18 teams participate in Summer and Winter showcases. The Summer showcase also acts as the group stage of Academy Playoffs. The teams that advance from the Academy playoffs can expect to play up to an additional 3 games.

The Development Academy designs the structure of the schedule for all clubs and it is the clubs' responsibility to organize a time and location for each game.

Each age group has its own distinctive structure. The U-12 program will have players practice more often, but play in less games. The U-13 and U-14 program will attend showcases throughout the year and play in games. These showcases include the Fall Regional Showcase, Winter Futsal Showcase, and Summer National Showcase. The U-12 program, U-13 and U-14 programs do not participate in the playoffs.

The U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups will compete in two national showcases and regular season games. As mentioned above the Summer and Winter Showcases are the premier events at these age group. Additionally, 32 teams qualify for the playoffs and the top 8 will go on to compete in the academy championships.

Age groups

The Academy has 149 total clubs, in five age groups: U-12, U-13, U-14, U-15/16, and U-17/18. These 149 clubs are all located within seventeen (17) geographically-based divisions at the U-12 age group, ten (10) geographically-based divisions at the U-13 and U-14 age group, and seven (7) geographically-based divisions at both the U-15/16 and U-17/18 levels.

The U-12 league is divided into seventeen divisions across three conferences:

U-12 Team Map

The U-13/14 league is divided into ten divisions across three conferences:

U-13 and U-14 Team Map

The U-15/16 and U-17/18 leagues are divided into seven divisions across three conferences: