Overview of Youth Soccer
Playing Leagues
National Youth Soccer Organizations
Three major Youth Soccer organizations under
US Soccer Federation
• American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO)
• US Youth Soccer
• US Club Soccer
AYSO
• Founded in 1964
• 650,000 players nationwide
• Recreational regular fall season
– Annual player draft to create balanced teams
– Tryouts are for draft; no cuts
• “All Star” spring “travel” season
– All stars selected based on fall season play
• 100% volunteer coaches, referees, admin
• Similar to Little League baseball/softball
philosophy
US Youth Soccer
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Founded in 1974
Largest Youth Soccer Org: 3 million players
Recreational and Competitive leagues
55 State Associations each divided in districts
– CYSA CalNorth is our State Association
– District 1 is our District
• Organized around member leagues in each
State Association
– San Francisco Youth Soccer (formerly SF Vikings League) is
a member of CYSA CalNorth
US Club Soccer
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Founded in 2001
Fastest growing Youth Soccer Organization
Recreational and Competitive
Organized around and led by soccer clubs
instead of leagues and state associations
• Formed to eliminate layers of bureaucracy in
US Youth Soccer State Associations & Districts
• NorCal Premier League is our Regional League
• SFVSC is a member club
Youth Soccer Landscape
• Dramatic Changes in Youth Soccer Landscape
in the last 15 years
– More levels of play
– More league options
– Emergence of US Club Soccer has driven most of
the changes
Youth Soccer Levels—15 Yrs. Ago
• Recreational
• Division 3
• Division 1
Youth Soccer Levels--Today
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Recreational
Copper
Bronze
Silver
Silver Elite
Gold
Premier
ECNL
USSF Academy
Select/Travel Leagues—15 Yrs. Ago
• CYSA (US Youth Soccer)
– Redwood League (Division 3)
– Abronzino League (Division 1)
Select/Travel Leagues—Today
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CCSL Prep
CCSL Coast & Bay
NorCal Regional Leagues
CRL
NorCal Premier Leagues
NPL
EGSL
ECNL
USL Super Y (not in Northern California)
USSF Academy
SF and Northern California Youth
Soccer Leagues
• San Francisco Microsoccer
– Run by San Francisco Vikings Soccer Club
• San Francisco Youth Soccer League
– Fall Recreational League
– CCSL Prep League
• San Francisco Police Activities League (PAL)
– Spring Recreational League
• Mission Youth Soccer League
– Summer Open League (Rec & Select)
SF and Northern California Youth
Soccer Leagues (continued)
• CYSA CalNorth
– Affiliated with US Youth Soccer
– CalNorth Cal Soccer League (CCSL)
– California Regional League (CRL)
• NorCal Premier Soccer
– Affiliated with US Club Soccer
– NorCal Regional Leagues
– NorCal Premier Leagues
– National Premier Leagues (NPL)
SF and Northern California Youth
Soccer Leagues (continued)
• Elite Girls Soccer League (EGSL)
– Affiliated with US Club Soccer
• Elite Clubs National League (ECNL)
– Affiliated with US Club Soccer
• USSF Development Academy
Microsoccer
• U5 to U7 Local SF League
– U5 & U6: 3v3
– U7: 4v4
• League run by San Francisco Vikings Soccer
Club
Recreational Leagues in SF
• U8 to U14 Local SF Leagues
• Fall: San Francisco Youth Soccer League
– Formerly San Francisco Vikings League
• Spring: Police Activities League (PAL)
• Summer: Mission Youth Soccer League
– *Note: Recreational and Select
• Recreational league players cannot be
selected based on tryouts
• SFVSC developing players for select soccer
Microsoccer & Recreational
• Microsoccer: U5 to U7
– Run by SFVSC
• Recreational: U8 to U14
– San Francisco Youth Soccer League—Fall
• Formerly SF Vikings League
– Police Activities League (PAL)--Spring
– Mission Youth Soccer League—Summer
• Players cannot be selected via tryouts
• SFVSC teams developing players for select
soccer
CCSL Prep League
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U8 to U14 Local SF League
Run by San Francisco Youth Soccer
Copper/Bronze level competitive league in SF
All new select teams in SF must start in CCSL
Prep in order to get practice and game fields
from SF Rec & Park
CCSL Coast & Bay Leagues
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U8 to U19 Travel League
Run by CYSA CalNorth
Coast: SF, Peninsula and South Bay
Bay: Greater Bay Area
Gold, Silver Elite, Silver, Bronze, Copper
– Gold level is small, spotty and inconsistent
• SF teams only get practice and game fields for
CCSL Coast play at U10 and above and only if
they win CCSL Prep and do well in Bronze
tournaments to earn promotion to travel
NorCal Regional Leagues
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U8 to Fall U9 Travel League
Run by NorCal Premier Soccer
Region 2: Peninsula and South Bay
Gold, Silver, Bronze
SF teams cannot get practice and game fields
from SFRPD for this league
NorCal Premier Leagues: U10-U13
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Spring U10 to U13 Travel League
Run by NorCal Premier Soccer
Region 2, 3, 4, 5: Greater Bay Area
Premier, Gold, Silver
SF teams only get practice and game fields for
NorCal play if they cannot get adequate
competition in CCSL
NorCal Premier Leagues: U14-U18
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U14 to U18 Travel League
Run by NorCal Premier Soccer
State Gold, Region Gold, Silver
SF teams only get practice and game fields for
NorCal play if they cannot get adequate
competition in CCSL
California Regional League (CRL)
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U12 to U18 Travel League
Run by CYSA CalNorth
Formed in 2013
Premier and top Gold teams eligible
CYSA CalNorth’s effort to compete with NorCal
CRL Playoffs vs. CalSouth teams
Low participation to date
National Premier Leagues (NPL)
• U14 to U19 Travel League
• Formed in 2011
• 19 Regional Leagues across the U.S.
– NorCal NPL run by NorCal Premier Soccer
• Top 18 to 24 Premier teams in each age group
– 33 member clubs in Northern California
– NPL Member Clubs get preferred entry for top Premier
team in each age group
– At-large teams admitted based on U13 NorCal Premier or
U14 - U18 State Gold record
Elite Girls Soccer League (EGSL)
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U12 to U13 Travel League
Formed in 2013
Pre-ECNL teams (see ECNL next slide)
6 ECNL Clubs in Northern California
8 ECNL Clubs in Southern California
No Boys equivalent at this time
ECNL (Elite Clubs National League)
• U14 to U18 Travel League
• Girls only
• Formed in 2009--Invitation only league for elite
soccer clubs with strongest record of regional and
national level of success
• 76 member clubs in 7 conferences nationally
• Northwest Conference includes 10 clubs
– 6 in NorCal division
– 4 in Pacific division (2 Wash, 1 Idaho, 1 Utah)
• Regional and National play
• No at large entries
USSF Development Academy
• Partnership between USSF and top clubs to develop
national team players
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Founded in 2007
Boys only
Academy clubs selected by USSF
Follow USSF developmental curriculum
88 U13/14 Clubs (11 in Northern California)
79 U15/16 & U17/18 Clubs (5 in Northern Calif.)
• 7 Regional Divisions across the U.S.
– Northern California in Northwest Division
• Players can only play on Academy teams
– Cannot play on club teams
– Cannot play on high school team
State Cups
CYSA CalNorth Cups
• CalNorth State Cup
– U9, 10, 11 Premier, Gold, Silver
– U12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 Premier, Gold
• CalNorth Presidents Cup
– U12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 Gold, Silver
• CalNorth Association Cup
– U9, 10, 11 Silver, Bronze, Copper
– U12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19 Silver, Bronze, Copper
• CalNorth Founders Cup
– U12, 14, 16, 19 Recreational
CYSA CalNorth Cups
• 3 Games of Group Play in one weekend
– Returning quarter-finalists are seeded
– All others randomly drawn into groups
• Group winners and some runners up advance
to single elimination the following weekend
• For teams that do not advance out of group
play, CalNorth Cups are like a regular weekend
tournament
• Substantially diminished in popularity in
recent years with rise of NorCal State Cup
NorCal State Cup
• U9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
• All entered teams seeded from top to bottom
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Red Division: Top 48 to 64 teams (Premier & Gold)
White Division: Next 24 to 48 teams (Gold & Silver)
Blue Division: Next 24-40 teams (Silver & Bronze)
Green Division: All remaining teams (Bronze & Copper)
• At least 7 games for all teams
– 8 games for 50% of teams
– 9 games for 25% of teams
NorCal State Cup
• 1st round group play
– 3 games during the fall on open league dates
• 2nd round group play
– 3 games during the winter
• Single elimination play for multiple
championships
– 8 team tournaments for all teams organized top to bottom
by level of play established in two rounds of group play
• Fun tournament--like an extra season!
NorCal Cups Dominate Participation
Number of Teams Participating by Age Group
CalNorth*
Boys
NorCal
Boys
CalNorth*
Girls
NorCal
Girls
U9
6
128
3
88
U10
15
152
8
112
U11
17
184
17
144
U12
29
152
22
116
U13
30
140
26
124
U14
25
100
35
116
U15
26
88
23
68
U16
29
88
17
68
U17
14
60
13
40
U18-19
15
48
11
32
*CalNorth includes combined participation in State Cup, Presidents Cup and Association Cups
What does all of this mean for
SFVSC teams?
SFVSC U8 Teams
• SF Youth Soccer and PAL Recreational Leagues
• CCSL Prep League
– Copper/Bronze
• NorCal Regional League
– Gold, Silver, Bronze
– Using non-SFRPD fields
SFVSC U9 Teams
• SF Youth Soccer and PAL Recreational Leagues
• CCSL Prep League
– Copper/Bronze
• NorCal Regional League
– Gold, Silver, Bronze
– Using non-SFRPD fields
• NorCal State Cup
– Using non-SFRPD fields
SFVSC U10 Teams
• SF Youth Soccer and PAL Recreational Leagues
• CCSL Prep League
– Copper/Bronze
• CCSL Coast
– Bronze, Silver, some Gold
• NorCal Regional League
– Gold
• NorCal State Cup
– Using non-SFRPD fields
SFVSC U11 Teams
• SF Youth Soccer and PAL Recreational Leagues
• CCSL Prep League
– Copper/Bronze
• CCSL Coast
– Bronze, Silver, some Gold
• NorCal Premier League
– Gold, Premier
• NorCal State Cup
– Using non-SFRPD fields
SFVSC U12 & U13 Teams
• SF Youth Soccer and PAL Recreational Leagues
• CCSL Prep League
– Copper/Bronze
• CCSL Coast
– Bronze, Silver, some Gold
• California Regional League
– Some Gold, some Premier
• NorCal Premier League
– Gold, Premier
• NorCal State Cup
– Using non-SFRPD fields
SFVSC U14 Teams
• SF Youth Soccer and PAL Recreational Leagues
• CCSL Prep League
– Copper/Bronze
• CCSL Coast & Bay Leagues
– Bronze, Silver, some Gold
• NorCal Premier League
– Gold
• California Regional League
– Some Gold, some Premier
• NorCal NPL League
– Premier
SFVSC U15 to U19 Teams
• CCSL Coast & Bay Leagues
– Copper, Bronze, Silver, some Gold
• NorCal Premier League
– Gold
• California Regional League (CRL)
– Some Gold, some Premier
• NorCal NPL League
– Premier
SFVSC Future
• SFVSC continues to gain strength
– More Premier & Gold teams than ever before
• SFVSC will apply for NPL Membership
• Can SFVSC become an ECNL Member Club?
• Can SFVSC become a USSF Academy Club?