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U.S. Soccer Development Academy

Girls' Development Academy
The Development Academy is pleased to announce the launch of the Girls' Development Academy in fall 2017. The Girls' Development Academy is part of U.S. Soccer's global leadership position in women's soccer and connects with its long-term plan to improve player and coach development. The girls program is designed similar to the boys program which includes 152 teams throughout five age groups. Initially the girls program will include three age groups of U-14/15, U-16/17 and U-18/19. Just like the boys program, the girls clubs will only play other academy teams and have training at least four times a week. However, girls participating in the academy won't be able to play on their high school soccer teams or Olympic development teams. The mission of the program is to provide education, resources and support to directly impact the everyday environment for clubs to develop world-class female players.

Academy Structure
The schedule of the Development Academy consists of a ten month season which begins in September and finishes with championships in July. Throughout the season, mostly winter, clubs will take a break from league play due to the weather conditions, but will still continue to train. During the season each academy team will expect to play between 25 and 30 games which includes six to nine games at the winter and summer showcases. Additionally, teams that continue to succeed in the playoffs have the opportunity to play an additional three games. For the duration of the season each academy team will expect 15 to 20 games on the road which may require overnight stays depending on the location of the games. The Development Academy designs the structure of the schedule for all clubs and it is the cubs responsibility to organize a time and location for each game. However, each age group has their own designed structure.

The U-12 program will have players practice more often, but play in less games. The U-13/14 program will attend several showcases throughout the year and play in several games. These showcases include the fall regional showcase, winter futsal showcase, and summer national showcase. Along with the U-12 program, the U-13/14 program will not participate in the playoffs. The U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups will compete in two national showcases and regular season games. These showcases include the winter showcase and the summer national showcase. Additionally, 32 teams qualify for the playoffs and the top 8 will go on to compete in the academy championships.

Age Groups
The Academy has 135 total clubs, in four age groups: U-12, U-13/14, U-15/16, and U-17/18. These 135 clubs are all located within seventeen (17) geographically-based divisions at the U-12 age group, nine (9) geographically-based divisions at the U-13/14 age group, and seven (7) geographically-based divisions at both the U-15/16 and U-17/18 levels.

The U-12 league is divided into seventeen divisions in three conferences: The U-13/14 league is divided into nine divisions in three conferences: The U-15/16 and U-17/18 leagues are divided into seven divisions in three conferences: