Elite Player Development (EPD)

from the offices of WYS

In the past, Washington Youth Soccer’s elite player development has focused on a single program structure. Today, however, as a result of the advancements of our programming and our partnerships with US Soccer, Sounders FC, International Organizations and various universities, we have a multitude of programs, tournaments and identification events, available to participate in. With the new EPD, our practitioners will strategically hand select the best development opportunities to create a complete package that best suites our players’ needs.

Each program that we currently run, including ODP, RTCs, State Pool Training, etc. will still play an integral role in our EPD training program as each individual program provides an important component in our players’ development. The EPD program will ensure that the best avenues for the development of our Elite players here in Washington are created to provide the correct matriculation & education. Washington Youth Soccer is additionally working in cooperation with US Soccer in sending players to US Market Training Centers (MTCs) to be trained and evaluated for national team programs. Starting with the 2010-2011 Season, Washington Youth Soccer will hold open tryouts for EPD – once selected as an EPD player, each athlete will follow the curriculum chosen for that particular age group.

Through the EPD, we expect to develop more players who will have the technical and tactical skills combined with the creativity to compete at the highest levels. Washington Youth Soccer’s / Sounders FC EPD program will develop hundreds of elite athletes across the state aged between 10 – 17 years old for both boys & girls from all sections of our community. Our objective is to develop a precise learning environment for the education and progress of each and every selected player.

The programs under the EPD umbrella include:

ODP Selected Events
ODP Annual Programming

Regional Training Center Program
Washington Youth Soccer / Sounders FC Player Development Training Program

Annual State Pool Training Program
State pool training schedule for event preparation & development

Local & Regional Elite Tournaments / College Showcases
Strategically selected events

International Exposure
Programming that exposes our elite players to the international training methodologies

Residential Training Programs
Summer training programs for strategically selected age groups

Continued Professional development of Staff
Consistent training and evaluation of our selected coaching staff