Member of the United States Soccer Development Adademy
Ballistic United & De Anza Force establish the Force Academy
Ballistic United and the De Anza Force have entered into a partnership focusing on long-term player development and working together to create the next generation of great soccer players. The partnership focal point is on pre-academy ages (U12-U14) and in Fall 2011 will expand to the U8-U11 ages. This program will include player identification, elite level training, and meaningful competition. The De Anza Force and Ballistic United agree that by combining resources, a better job can be done in developing players for our U.S. Youth National Teams and The Force Academy which competes in the US Soccer Development Academy.
DeAnza Force is one of 77 elite clubs selected to participate in the United States Soccer Development Academy. This affiliation offers our players:
-
Outstanding training and player development
-
Unrivaled competition
-
Player exposure to collegiate, national team, and professional scouting
The Force Academy Partnership
The De Anza Force is committed to developing home grown players through high level training, elevated competition and unprecedented exposure to college coaches and US national team staff. Following this model The De Anza Force and Pleasanton Ballistic United has partnered to create our next great generation of players and feed the U14, U16 and U18 Force Academy.
The Force Academy Partnership will bring elite players together to train in a highly competitive environment while club coaches and players will follow a similar development model in their own clubs. Using a combination scientific research, classroom sessions, and practical field work, this development applied consistently develops players at the highest levels.
US Soccer Development Academy
The Development Academy is a partnership between U.S. Soccer and the top youth clubs around the country to provide the best youth players in the U.S. with an every day environment designed to produce the next generation of National Team players. The Academy’s programming philosophy of increased training, less total games and more competitive games is based on U.S. Soccer’s Best Practices utilized by the U-17 U.S. National Team Residency program.
|
Objective: |
The Development Academy’s primary focus is player development. Academy players are provided with the best opportunity to achieve their potential as elite soccer players. |
|
|
|
|
Standards: |
Academy teams are required to train at least three days per week and rest one day per week during the Academy season. Academy teams will play approx. 30 games per year. |
|
Developing the next generation
U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy program is driven by the game and its players, coaches and referees. This game-centric approach allows for long-term development to occur through a deep understanding of what makes players successful around the world. As the sport of soccer grows in the United States, young players in our country need the proper environment to compete against the world’s elite. The U.S. Soccer Development Academy program provides the optimum developmental environment for the nation’s top youth soccer players, coaches and referees by emphasizing development through quality training and limited, meaningful competition.
Meaningful Training
Academy teams spend a greater amount of time focused on training to improve as individuals and as a team. The teams and players receive direct feedback and evaluations from National Team Staff and ProZone video analysis. To round-out the complete training environment, Academy teams are tested in their physical capabilities using the SPARQ testing methodology and their hydration levels by Gatorade. They also receive a SPARQ training curriculum for soccer-specific athletic training and Nutrition and Hydration recommendations from Gatorade’s Sports Science Institute. Each athlete then gains a greater understanding of how they compare physically against their peers and what they need to do to achieve their optimal performance levels.
Competitive Environment
The Academy program features teams from the top youth clubs from around the country. Each Academy team plays approximately 30 regular season games to ensure all games are meaningful. Games are also played according to FIFA’s Laws of the Game and officiated by a pool of the nation’s top young referees in order to prepare players for the next level of competition. National Team Scouts regularly attend Academy games, so players are evaluated over the course of the season and in their natural positions allowing for better player assessment.
Early Success
As the program enters its second year, it 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. Visit ussoccer.com to view the top Academy teams in action. |
Want to know more?
Find out more about the Development Academy by watching these following videos:
|
|
Got questions?
Further questions about the Development Academy can be answered in this U.S. Soccer FAQ.
Please click here to learn more about the origins of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy program.
|
|
Academy contact @ Force
For information about trying out with Force Academy teams, contact Jeff Baicher.
|
