2015-2016

FYSA OLYMPIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Mission Statement

The mission of the Florida Youth Soccer Association is to identify players for our men’s and women’s Youth National Teams. The selection process takes place through state, regional and national events.

The primary benefit to the player is to be able to train, play, and compete against the best players in their age group. This allows the best players to be with the best in order to further their development as soccer players.

Our State Staff is comprised of professional, college, high school, and club coaches. All of these coaches are nationally licensed by US Soccer. It is the goal of our staff to conduct these trials in a far and impartial manner.

Florida Youth Soccer Association encourages always look for ways to challenge and improve themselves as players. We continue to strive to make this program the finest in the country.

Background

The United States Soccer Federation (US Soccer) is responsible for the development of US National teams that compete in international events throughout the world. US Soccer currently fields National teams at the Under 14, Under 15, Under 17, Under 18, Under 20, Under 23 (Olympic), and World Cup levels for men and Under 14, Under 15, Under 17,U18, U20, and World Cup levels for women. 80% of the players for these National teams have participated in the Olympic Development Program (ODP). We currently have 29 players playing with Full or Youth National teams that have participated with our program. Age group teams are also identified at the Region III level for additional training and participation in national and international events.

It is recognized that developing a national caliber player is a long process, and that most players cannot advance from the club level to the National Team in just one step. Also with size of the United States does not allow the national coaches to scout and work with every promising player. The process of identifying and nurturing those players with potential starts at the under 12/13 level via the Olympic Development Program.

Purpose of FYSA Olympic Development Program

The purpose of the FYSA Olympic Development Program is to identify and develop outstanding soccer players within the state of Florida for selection to State Teams and for advancement to the Region III Olympic Development Program and to the National Youth Teams.

Goals

  1. Identify the best players in Florida.
  2. Provide developmental opportunities for various ages and levels of players.
  3. Provide for events where FYSA players can be evaluated by National Team, Region III and college coaches.
  4. Supplement the advancement of the individual player to raise the level of play for our FYSA clubs.

Structure

  • Identification
  1. Players primarily will be identified in their club settings for players born in 1999-2001 (see scouting process).
  2. Open trials for players born in 2002-2003 will be the primary source of identification for the 2002-2003 State Pool. These trials will be held in the fall of 2015 (see calendar).
  3. Open trials for players born in 1999-2001will occur in the fall of 2015 (see calendar).
  4. Players may be recommended by their clubs in the 1999-2003 age groups for evaluation and identification to the state pool. Recommendations should be made in the fall to allow for follow up evaluations.
  • Development
  1. FYSA will provide developmental opportunities for our players.
  2. The FYSA Training Centers and pool training will follow the US Youth Soccer ODP curriculum in both the Training Centers and FYSA pool training.
  3. Training Centers for 2002-2003 and club recommended 2004 players in the fall of 2015 (see calendar).
  4. FYSA Pool Training for identified 1999-2003 players.
  5. FYSA will also continue working with US Soccer and their training centers to provide more opportunities for quality training opportunities.
  6. Specialized camps for Goalkeepers and Strikers (TBA).
  7. Developmental Camps for 2003 and recommended 2004 player in the summer of 2016 (see calendar).
  • Training
  1. Players identified to FYSA State Pools will train on a consistent basis (see calendar).
  2. The goal is to provide development for our elite players on a consistent basis utilizing the US Youth ODP curriculum. This will better develop and prepare our elite players for their events.
  3. Each age group will have 8 to 12 pool training dates throughout the year (see calendar).
  4. The state pool training will occur at various sites around the state.
  • Competition
  1. FYSA currently participates in the Region III Camp and US Youth National Championships. This provides the players with an elite level of competition.
  2. This structure will also allow us to be more flexible to provide opportunities to put together groups to compete against other state, region, and international competition.
  • Evaluation
  1. Players are evaluated throughout the year either during their club play or during FYSA ODP events.
  2. FYSA will have a database of players which will allow for the tracking of players and their evaluations throughout the year.

Scouting Process

Scouting will be the primary method of the identification of players. The primary scouting of players will utilize FYSA and US Youth events. Players can be evaluated in FYSA events such as State Cup, Region Cup, and the FYSA State Premier League. US Youth events such as Region III Premier League, National League, Region III Southern Regionals, and US Youth National Championships will also be used. FYSA will also scout various in state tournaments or showcases throughout the year.

Players will be identified by FYSA, Region III, and US Soccer Staff. Each age group will have a primary person who will coordinate the player identifications and will coordinate with the FYSA Director of Coaching as to the players who will be identified and invited into the FYSA state pool. FYSA club coaches will have a process by which they can recommend players for evaluation by the above staff.

The reasoning is for players who are not able to participate in the above events or feel they were overlooked in the scouting process.

Special Programming

The FYSA Olympic Developmental Program will host two special events for our players and club programs. We will host a College Combine in July (see calendar) of each year for individual players to be evaluated by college coaches. In March (see calendar) of each year we will host an event for teams that participate in the various State, Region, and National Premier Leagues. We will work to also have a college presence in regards to college teams and coaches in conjunction with this event.

Calendar

The calendar below provides our players additional training opportunities versus trials. The calendar may be adjusted for some of the age groups and genders when opportunities to play state, regional, national, or international teams.

FYSA ODP Calendar-Link