The Youth Academy Program is comprised of sponsored Academy programs throughout the state. These programs are designed to promote holistic player development over team development in a child-centered environment for ages U8 to U12.
Youth Academy Format
The purpose of this format is to increase player enjoyment, development, and retention.
The Youth Academy Format provides opportunity for participating clubs to play developmentally appropriate games amongst other clubs within or outside of their geographic area. Games are played on weekends known as Playdates at a host club’s field. Participating clubs sign up for the Playdates they wish to attend during the calendar season.
In place of Tryouts, clubs hold Assessments/Evaluations before a season. After Assessments/Evaluations, an Academy Director places all players (U8-U12) within their age group into a Player Pool. Within the Pool, players train together in a child-centered environment following a developmentally appropriate curriculum. Coaches then place each player onto a developmentally appropriate team for each Playdate. Not having set “teams” gives coaches the opportunity to place each player based on their developmental needs for both training and games.
Alabama Soccer Association tries to create a league that is competitive and fun but sometimes a game may be lopsided in skills and ability. We have added Competition Safeguarding below to give coaches and parents some ideas of how we can make sure a game is played without running up the score and more players get a chance to play or be challenged in their game.
Join our Youth Academy Programs
ASA Development League
The ASA D-League is an affiliate league of the Youth Academy Program and comprised of Academy programs in the greater Birmingham area.
D-League Format
The purpose of this format is to increase player enjoyment, development, and retention. The Youth Academy Format provides opportunity for participating clubs to play developmentally appropriate games–games that provide a relatively equal amount of challenge for both teams. All games are played within the city of Birmingham and the surrounding area.
In place of Tryouts, clubs hold Assessments/Evaluations before a season. After Assessments/Evaluations, an Academy Director places all players (U9-U12) within their age group into a Player Pool. Within the Pool, players train together in a child-centered environment following a developmentally appropriate curriculum. Coaches then place each player onto a developmentally appropriate team for each Playdate. Not having set “teams” gives coaches the opportunity to place each player based on their developmental needs for both training and games.
Keep it FUN – Competition Safeguarding
Updated 2/2023 –Game Day Procedures
Spring 2025 –Schedule
Rescheduling elected less than 7 days before the scheduled match – https://system.gotsport.com/forms/882V59221
The Across Borders League is an affiliate league of the Youth Academy Program and comprised of teams from Alabama and Mississippi for starting in the fall 2023. The League was an Innovate to Grow (ITG) grant funded by US Soccer to get more players in the Gulf Coast Region in a league with consistent games with similar levels of play. The hopes were to create a learning environment with 2-3 training sessions per game played and lessen the burden of high costs with educated coaches and referees. Now the league is in its third season with a continuous growth of games and play dates to give the players a positive soccer environment along their soccer pathway.
ABL Purpose & Values
The purpose of the Across Borders League is to provide a playing format that allows clubs to focus on player development by having flexible player movement and a competitive level while coordinating the growth across USYS State Association lines.