"To be accepted in such a high level league is fantastic. That’s the perfect infrastructure and preparation for top Elite players before their college or professional soccer carrier. To get a spot on one of these Academy Teams is almost like a scholarship for a college. Only the best players will be accepted, and this is exactly what college coaches are looking for. They will get well prepared players for their teams", says Dr. Josef Schulz, Head Coach of the Schulz Academy .

"Since we were accepted few days ago the telephone doesn’t stop ringing. Players from out of state, and even players from other countries want to join the academy to be part of this league. We all are honored to be part of this newest development in US Soccer, and this also will enable us to continue to provide players for the US Youth National Teams, Top Colleges and Professional Teams here and abroad", continues Dr. Schulz.

From the Soccer Communications Center :

SOCCER’S DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY ADDS
SIXTEEN MORE CLUBS FOR THE INAUGURAL SEASON

Soccer’s Development Academy Nearing Expected Number of Available
Slots for the 2007-2008 Season with 47 Clubs On Board

 New Development Academy Will Provide Improved Soccer Environment
for Thousands of Elite Players, Coaches & Referees from Coast-to-Coast

CHICAGO (July 16, 2007) – U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy has now grown to 47 clubs from across the country with the recent addition of 16 more clubs, nearing the expected capacity for the inaugural season. With the launch of the new Development Academy , the U.S. Soccer Federation has taken the initiative in extending its National Team program and putting an emphasis on the development of the player by improving their daily environment.

The Development Academy concept is designed to shift the focus of the young elite player from an ‘overburdened, game emphasis’ model to a ‘meaningful training and competition’ model. The concept was unveiled on June 4 and the response has been unprecedented.

“We are very excited about the excellent roster of clubs that have the desire to change their development environment,” said U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth. “The quality of applications has been outstanding and we are approaching our targeted number of expected slots for the Inaugural Academy Season.”

• Player Development Academy Information

   

“We are very pleased with the quality of the clubs currently admitted into the Development Academy ,” said U.S. Soccer’s Director of Coaching Education Bob Jenkins. “These clubs embrace the Development Academy ’s mission of changing the development environment for the elite player both now and for the long term.”

The 16 latest clubs added to U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy continue to reflect the high quality of participants:

• AFC Lightning Soccer Club (Georgia)

   

• Arsenal SC ( California )

   

• Birmingham United Soccer Association ( Alabama )

   

• Carmel United Soccer Club (Indiana)

   

• Empire United Soccer Academy ( New York )

   

• FC Milwaukee ( Wisconsin )

   

• FC Portland Soccer Academy ( Oregon )

   

• Internationals Soccer Club ( Ohio )

   

• Irvine Strikers ( California )

   

• Metro United Soccer Club ( Illinois )

   

• Metropolitan Oval Foundation, Inc. ( New York )

   

• North Meck Soccer Club ( North Carolina )

   

• Ohio Elite Soccer Academy ( Ohio )

   

• PA Classics ( Pennsylvania )

   

• Schulz Academy ( Florida )

   

• Scott Gallagher ( Missouri )

   

After the latest round of Academy admissions, it is anticipated that only a limited number of remaining spots are available for the inaugural Academy Season. The Selection Committee has reviewed over 100 applications thus far and expects the final selection process to be very competitive.

“With only a few weeks remaining in the application window, we encourage interested clubs to send in their applications for review,” said U.S. Soccer’s Director of Coaching Education Bob Jenkins. “The selection process thus far has been very intense and will only increase in the final weeks.”

Created to provide players with the best possible opportunity and environment to develop, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy is being initiated after a comprehensive review of player development systems in the and around the world.

SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY – STRUCTURE

Objective:	The focus of the Academy is on player development and providing players with the best possible opportunity to develop to the highest level they are capable of achieving
Standards:	A minimum requirement of three training sessions and one rest day per week
Selection:	U.S. Soccer coaches will select qualified applicants on a rolling basis until Aug. 1
Age Groups:	U-16 & U-18 teams (minimum roster of 22 players); providing opportunities for more than 2,000 players
Competition Format:	Divided into conferences with each team playing between 30 and 38 home and away matches during an eight-month season. Each conference will be comprised of approximately 15-20 teams based on geographic proximity. The winner of each conference will play in the Academy Finals at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Teams:	Below is a complete list of the Development Academy ’s 47 current clubs representing 22 states and the District of Columbia :
	Alabama           Birmingham United SA   California           Arsenal SC   De Anza Force SC   Irvine Strikers   Mustang FC   Nomads SC   Colorado           Colorado Rush   Real Colorado   Connecticut           Oakwood SC   District of Columbia           DC United   Florida           Clearwater Chargers SC   IMG SA   Kendall Soccer Coalition   Schulz Academy             Atlanta Fire United SA   AFC Lightning Soccer Club   Illinois           Chicago Fire Soccer PDA   Chicago Magic Soccer Club   Metro United Soccer Club   Sockers FC Chicago   Indiana           Carmel United Soccer Club   Maryland           Potomac Soccer   Massachusetts           FC Greater Boston Bolts   Michigan           Michigan Wolves   Vardar   Missouri           Scott Gallagher   New Hampshire           Seacoast United   New Jersey           PDA   New York Red Bulls   New York           B/W Gottschee   Empire United SA   FC Westchester   Met Oval   North Carolina           CASL   Greensboro Youth SC   North Meck SC   Ohio           Internationals SC   Ohio Elite SA   Oregon           FC Portland SA   Pennsylvania           FC DELCO   PA Classics   Virginia           Richmond Kickers SC   Richmond Strikers   VA Rush SC   Washington           Crossfire Premier SC   Washington Premier FC   Wisconsin           FC Milwaukee

- ussoccer.com -

Majority of Top 20 boys clubs in U.S. Soccer Academy

by Mike Woitalla, Tuesday, Jul 17, 2007 7:00 AM ET

THE NUMBER OF CLUBS ACCEPTED to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy for its inaugural 2007-08 season has reached 47 with the addition of 16 clubs announced Monday. U.S. Soccer, which is launching the boys U-16 and U-18 league as an extension of its national team program, has reviewed more than 100 applications and announced "only a limited number of remaining spots are available" for the first season. Of the clubs accepted so far, 14 are ranked among Soccer America Magazine’s 2007 Top 20 Boys Clubs. The latest group of clubs to be accepted includes California’s Arsenal SC (No. 3 in Soccer America rankings) and Irvine Strikers (16), Missouri’s Scott Gallagher (8) and Florida’s Schulz Academy (19). Rounding out Monday’s 16 additions are: AFC Lightning Soccer Club (Ga.) Birmingham United Soccer Association (Ala.) Carmel United SC (Ind.) Empire United Soccer Academy (N.Y.) FC Milwaukee (Wis.) FC Portland Soccer Academy (Ore.) Internationals SC (Ohio) Metro United SC (Ill.) Metropolitan Oval Foundation, Inc. (N.Y.) North Meck SC (N.C.) Ohio Elite Soccer Academy (Ohio) PA Classics (Pa.) Schulz Academy (Fla.). "With only a few weeks remaining in the application window, we encourage interested clubs to send in their applications for review," said U.S. Soccer’s Director of Coaching Education Bob Jenkins. "The selection process thus far has been very intense and will only increase in the final weeks." Teams in bold in the 2007 Soccer America Top 20 Boys Clubs rankings below have been accepted into the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. RANK/TEAM (STATE) 1 Chicago Magic (Ill.) 2 Dallas Texans (Texas) 3 Arsenal FC (Calif.) 4 Real So Cal (Calif.) 5 Sockers FC (Ill.) 6 FC Delco (Pa.) 7 Baltimore Bays (Md.) 8 Scott Gallagher (Mo.) 9 Vardar Stars (Mich.) 10 Solar FC (Texas) 11 CASL Elite (N.C.) 12 FC Greater Boston (Mass.) 13 Bethesda SC (Md.) 14 PDA (N.J.) 15 Nomads SC (Calif.) 16 Irvine Strikers SC (Calif.) 17 Texas SC (Texas) 18 Colorado Rush (Colo.) 19 Schulz Academy (Fla.) 20 Real Colorado (Colo.)