US Club Soccer is A National Association member of the U.S. Soccer Federation, US Club Soccer is an organization committed to the development and support of soccer clubs in the United States. Among US Club Soccer’s guiding principles:
• Clubs are the vehicle through which players are developed, and US Club Soccer should help facilitate club development throughout the country.
• Clubs and their leadership should be the primary decision-makers in the structure and organization of soccer.
• US Club Soccer should provide leadership and a vehicle for clubs and technical leaders to work together to elevate the game and player development environment.
A nine-member Board of Directors, all of whom must be experienced coaches with national licensing in member soccer clubs, make policy decisions for the organization.
Through US Club Soccer, all of a club’s programs – rec, youth competitive and adult – are able to be united under one organizational umbrella, creating a “members for life” culture within each club. US Club Soccer’s programming has all been developed with strong input from clubs around the country and with a minimum of rules and restrictions to allow efficient and innovative operations. An overview of some of these programs follows.
US Club Soccer administers and sanctions leagues throughout the country for various age groups, competitive levels and geographic sizes and areas. Through these leagues – particularly the National Premier Leagues (NPL) and Premier Leagues – US Club Soccer aims to elevate and change the competitive youth soccer landscape.
National Premier Leagues (NPL) and Premier Leagues: A collection of the top US Club Soccer leagues around the country, providing a unified, league-based national platform for long-term player development. These leagues extend developmental principals espoused by U.S. Soccer and the U.S. Soccer Development Academy into younger age groups and additional clubs. For more information: NationalPremierLeagues.com or usclubsoccer.org
NPL Champions Cup: The culminating championship event of the NPL platform. Teams compete for NPL national championships in the U-13 through U-17 boys and girls age groups, qualifying for the event based on placement in their NPL during the year.
National Adult Leagues: Consistent with US Club Soccer’s goal of providing a vehicle for clubs to offer life-long soccer to their members, the National Adult Leagues are comprised of high-quality and competitive local leagues for men and women to provide a structure for adult soccer in the United States. The National Adult Leagues program is geared to be low-cost without prohibitive entrance or franchise fees. For more information: NationalAdultLeagues.com
Local Competitive Leagues: Beyond the above leagues, US Club Soccer also sanctions hundreds of additional leagues throughout the country of various age groups (youth and adult), competitive levels and geographic sizes and areas. Generally, these leagues include quality, local competition without significant travel or club commitments required. US Club Soccer affords the flexibility for decisions to be made that are in the best interest of the specific league, participating teams and players.
Rec Programs: Participatory-based leagues and programs, which are primarily in-house or intramural in nature. Rec programs benefit from easy registration and a reduced registration fee to go along with US Club Soccer’s philosophy of eliminating red tape and over-regulation. Rec players generally do not receive passcards as it is not expected they will travel. In all other respects, rec programs have the same rights as all other US Club Soccer members, including insurance coverage, tournament sanctioning, etc.
US Club Soccer offers Cup-based competitions integrated at local, regional and national scales. Among them:
National Cup: US Club Soccer’s cup championship competition open to all members. The competition includes regional, state and other qualifiers, culminating in the National Cup Finals. National Cup Regionals are open to all US Club Soccer members in the U-11 through U-18/19 boys and girls age groups. Winning teams from National Cup Regionals and qualifying state cups in the U-13 through U-17 age groups advance to the National Cup Finals. For more information: usclubsoccer.org/nationalcup
State Cups: State-based or other geographic market-based cups that qualify for National Cup events. US Club Soccer’s state championship events allow hosting members the flexibility to develop an event that is formatted based upon the needs of each specific state or region.
US Club Soccer offers a pair of integrated player identification and development platforms, both of which are Olympic Development Programs as recognized by the U.S. Soccer Federation and U.S. Olympic Committee.
id2 National Identification and Development Program: Established in 2004 and open to all players regardless of U.S. Soccer affiliation or lack thereof, the id2 Program provides opportunities for elite youth soccer players in targeted age groups to be identified and developed, and scouted for potential inclusion in U.S. Soccer’s National Team programs. A comprehensive national scouting and recommendation program is used to form a player pool from which top players are invited to attend an id2 Program Training Camp. The id2 Program is not fee-based. For more information: usclubsoccer.org/id2
Player Development Programs (PDPs): Regionally-based identification and developmental programs conducted under the id2 Program umbrella and centered around the NPLs in specific geographic areas. PDP invitations are based upon scouting within the NPL, scouting of NPL clubs and other nearby clubs, as well as recommendations from Directors of Coaching. Based upon this scouting and recommendation process, top players are invited to attend PDP events.
In order to aid soccer clubs in being the best possible vehicle for player development, US Club Soccer is committed to club development through coaching education and the establishment of club standards and guidelines to extend best practices to all member clubs. These standards and guidelines serve as the basis for eligibility in some of US Club Soccer’s top competitive platforms, such as the NPL and Elite Clubs National League.
US Club Soccer’s tournament sanctioning program allows both US Club Soccer teams and also those registered with other U.S. Soccer affiliates the ability to participate in competitions. Travel permissions are not required for US Club Soccer members and tournament insurance is offered for both members and non-members.
• Clubs are the vehicle through which players are developed, and US Club Soccer should help facilitate club development throughout the country.
• Clubs and their leadership should be the primary decision-makers in the structure and organization of soccer.
• US Club Soccer should provide leadership and a vehicle for clubs and technical leaders to work together to elevate the game and player development environment.
A nine-member Board of Directors, all of whom must be experienced coaches with national licensing in member soccer clubs, make policy decisions for the organization.
Through US Club Soccer, all of a club’s programs – rec, youth competitive and adult – are able to be united under one organizational umbrella, creating a “members for life” culture within each club. US Club Soccer’s programming has all been developed with strong input from clubs around the country and with a minimum of rules and restrictions to allow efficient and innovative operations. An overview of some of these programs follows.
| LEAGUE-BASED PROGRAMMING: |
US Club Soccer administers and sanctions leagues throughout the country for various age groups, competitive levels and geographic sizes and areas. Through these leagues – particularly the National Premier Leagues (NPL) and Premier Leagues – US Club Soccer aims to elevate and change the competitive youth soccer landscape.
National Premier Leagues (NPL) and Premier Leagues: A collection of the top US Club Soccer leagues around the country, providing a unified, league-based national platform for long-term player development. These leagues extend developmental principals espoused by U.S. Soccer and the U.S. Soccer Development Academy into younger age groups and additional clubs. For more information: NationalPremierLeagues.com or usclubsoccer.org
NPL Champions Cup: The culminating championship event of the NPL platform. Teams compete for NPL national championships in the U-13 through U-17 boys and girls age groups, qualifying for the event based on placement in their NPL during the year.
National Adult Leagues: Consistent with US Club Soccer’s goal of providing a vehicle for clubs to offer life-long soccer to their members, the National Adult Leagues are comprised of high-quality and competitive local leagues for men and women to provide a structure for adult soccer in the United States. The National Adult Leagues program is geared to be low-cost without prohibitive entrance or franchise fees. For more information: NationalAdultLeagues.com
Local Competitive Leagues: Beyond the above leagues, US Club Soccer also sanctions hundreds of additional leagues throughout the country of various age groups (youth and adult), competitive levels and geographic sizes and areas. Generally, these leagues include quality, local competition without significant travel or club commitments required. US Club Soccer affords the flexibility for decisions to be made that are in the best interest of the specific league, participating teams and players.
Rec Programs: Participatory-based leagues and programs, which are primarily in-house or intramural in nature. Rec programs benefit from easy registration and a reduced registration fee to go along with US Club Soccer’s philosophy of eliminating red tape and over-regulation. Rec players generally do not receive passcards as it is not expected they will travel. In all other respects, rec programs have the same rights as all other US Club Soccer members, including insurance coverage, tournament sanctioning, etc.
| CUP-BASED PROGRAMMING: |
US Club Soccer offers Cup-based competitions integrated at local, regional and national scales. Among them:
National Cup: US Club Soccer’s cup championship competition open to all members. The competition includes regional, state and other qualifiers, culminating in the National Cup Finals. National Cup Regionals are open to all US Club Soccer members in the U-11 through U-18/19 boys and girls age groups. Winning teams from National Cup Regionals and qualifying state cups in the U-13 through U-17 age groups advance to the National Cup Finals. For more information: usclubsoccer.org/nationalcup
State Cups: State-based or other geographic market-based cups that qualify for National Cup events. US Club Soccer’s state championship events allow hosting members the flexibility to develop an event that is formatted based upon the needs of each specific state or region.
| PLAYER IDENTIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT: |
US Club Soccer offers a pair of integrated player identification and development platforms, both of which are Olympic Development Programs as recognized by the U.S. Soccer Federation and U.S. Olympic Committee.
id2 National Identification and Development Program: Established in 2004 and open to all players regardless of U.S. Soccer affiliation or lack thereof, the id2 Program provides opportunities for elite youth soccer players in targeted age groups to be identified and developed, and scouted for potential inclusion in U.S. Soccer’s National Team programs. A comprehensive national scouting and recommendation program is used to form a player pool from which top players are invited to attend an id2 Program Training Camp. The id2 Program is not fee-based. For more information: usclubsoccer.org/id2
Player Development Programs (PDPs): Regionally-based identification and developmental programs conducted under the id2 Program umbrella and centered around the NPLs in specific geographic areas. PDP invitations are based upon scouting within the NPL, scouting of NPL clubs and other nearby clubs, as well as recommendations from Directors of Coaching. Based upon this scouting and recommendation process, top players are invited to attend PDP events.
| CLUB DEVELOPMENT & COACHING EDUCATION: |
In order to aid soccer clubs in being the best possible vehicle for player development, US Club Soccer is committed to club development through coaching education and the establishment of club standards and guidelines to extend best practices to all member clubs. These standards and guidelines serve as the basis for eligibility in some of US Club Soccer’s top competitive platforms, such as the NPL and Elite Clubs National League.
| TOURNAMENT SANCTIONING: |
US Club Soccer’s tournament sanctioning program allows both US Club Soccer teams and also those registered with other U.S. Soccer affiliates the ability to participate in competitions. Travel permissions are not required for US Club Soccer members and tournament insurance is offered for both members and non-members.
