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  In 2007, the United States Soccer Federation broke with its’ 40 year history of taking a hands off approach to youth player development in the United States.  Previously, the USSF oversaw the Youth National and Full National team programs, but had little direct contact with a player before they arrived to a National Team camp.  After the disappointing performance by the United States in the 2006 World Cup, US Soccer conducted a comprehensive analysis of the youth system and player development structures in the United States.  There findings determined, among many other things, that the everyday environment for the elite level player was not good enough; that
  
  ODP had largely failed in its’ goal of producing players who could compete on the international stage; that the model for soccer in the United States, if left unchanged, would lead to continual disappointment at the international level.  It was determined that the US Soccer Federation had to enter into youth player development if the United States was ever going to be able to compete for a World Cup. 

Their solution was the US Development Academy League.  The focus of the US Development Academy program was to improve the everyday training environment of elite level players by increasing the number and competitiveness of training sessions, decreasing the number of overall matches, ensuring a high level of quality in every match, and providing players and their coaches with access to US National Staff coaches as a means to more effectively develop players and coaches.  US Soccer placed the Academy above ODP, above state cup, regionals, and USYS or US Club Nationals.  While hundreds of clubs applied only 64 clubs were selected to be members of US Development Academy League during the inaugural season.  Clubs were awarded Academy programs based on their player development structures and histories.  The league has since grown to 75 Academies across the entire United States with nearly every single MLS club represented in the league.  SLSG is proud to be the ONLY club in the entire United States with 2 Academy programs: SLSG Missouri and SLSG Metro.

SLSG Missouri is based out of Creve Coeur, Missouri while the SLSG Metro Academy program is based 30 minutes west in Collinsville, Illinois.  Please click on the links below to navigate to each programs individual websites.  Within these websites you can find a wealth of information including, but not limited to: team rosters, coaching staff, program philosophies, past players, and upcoming matches.  Additionally, you will find various social networking tools like blogs, Facebook and Twitter, which allow our fans to follow us while we are on the road.   

 		  


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