McLean Youth Soccer added to U.S. Soccer Development Academy league

Five new clubs will join the U.S. Soccer Development Academy for the 2009-10 season after the most competitive application process in the young history of the Academy program. With the new additions, 79 total clubs are slated to participate in the national team training program next year.

Joining the Academy in 2009-10 will be California Development Academy (Sacramento, Calif.), Houston Dynamo (Houston, Texas), Kansas City Wizards Juniors (Kansas City, Mo.), McLean Youth Soccer (McLean, Va.) and NJSA 04 (Holmdel, N.J.).

The five Academy clubs were selected from a pool of 250 applicants. Clubs were selected based on their potential to generate future national team players as determined by geographic location, coaching staff, administrative capabilities and national team coach site visits and evaluations. U.S. Soccer has limited the number of clubs admitted into the Academy each year to maintain the highest quality of competition in the program. 

Located in McLean, Virginia, McLean Youth Soccer (MYS), has provided a place for players to develop their soccer skills for almost 40 years. Under the direction of Technical Director Clyde Watson and his staff, MYS has made great strides in recent years to raise the standards of excellence among its Recreation, Travel, and MPS (McLean Premier Soccer) Programs.
 
"McLean Youth Soccer joining the US Soccer Development Academy provides another level of development opportunity for our members.  From a player development standpoint, this is the next logical step for players in McLean and the surrounding environs,” said Clyde Watson. “This is a vote of confidence by the Academy Program, and reflects the hard work the technical staff has put in over the years to continually improve our programs."
 
The Academy program was created to enhance the player development environment for elite youth players in the United States, according to U.S. Soccer Best Practices, with specific focus on increasing the number of training sessions, decreasing the total number of games while increasing the number of quality games and maintaining the highest level of coaching, refereeing and competition available in an everyday environment.
 
Aside from providing clubs with a soccer-centric environment, the Academy program also provides a platform to systematically improve the player identification and development processes. Over half of the Academy matches are attended by a national team scout, resulting in a comprehensive system to evaluate player, coach and referee talent. Academy coaches and athletes also receive video analysis from ProZone, a soccer-specific athletic training curriculum from SPARQ and Nutrition and Hydration recommendations from Gatorade’s Sports Science Institute. The physical capabilities of Academy athletes are measured using SPARQ’s soccer-specific tests and Gatorade’s fluid loss tests.
 
Watson continues, "In addition to raising the level of fitness and training, being part of the Development Academy Program provides the elite player with the opportunity to be exposed to top college scouts as well as scouts from the professional ranks and the U.S. National Teams. Our selection further demonstrates MYS’ commitment to player development as exemplified by our MPS program. It furthers MYS\' goal of providing a place for every player. We are honored that the US Soccer Academy has chosen McLean Youth Soccer as a Development Academy club."
 
With more than 7000 participants and 250 teams each year, MYS provides opportunities for every level of soccer player to develop their soccer and sportsmanship skills, starting with age 5. Open tryouts for the Academy Program will be held in late spring / early summer.

In its second year, the Academy program has already dramatically impacted the player development process in the United States. In 2008, more than 100 players from Academy clubs were included in U.S. Youth National Teams and almost 800 graduates from the inaugural Academy class participated in college soccer the following fall. Virtually all college programs use the Academy program as a scouting vehicle and the program has received increased attention from professional scouts representing domestic and international clubs.

Launched in the fall of 2007 after a detailed review of player development systems in the U.S. and across the world, the Development Academy provides players, coaches and referees a nationally-coordinated program designed to enhance their development environment. The Academy has improved the training environment, provided relevant, high-level matches on a consistent basis, increased the level and efficiency of scouting for the national teams and provided players, coaches and referees with structured programming. For more information on the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, log on to ussoccer.com.