ERIE FC Youth Academy

U9 – U10 Players

Club Player Pool & Teams

An academy format is primarily an in-house developmental concept for players. The goal is to develop highly skilled and competent individual players that can experience the game emphasizing the “process of becoming a player” in an age-appropriate environment. After graduating out of the ERIE FC Gunners program players will move into the Academy to be better prepared to eventually fill competitive “classic” teams at U-11 and above age level as the team concept becomes a more appropriate emphasis for skilled players.

Academy programs aid in player retention and individual player development as opposed to the “team forming” model that excludes players too early who are not considered talented enough to add to a team roster. Academy formats are appropriate for young soccer players’ development since the focus is on player improvement vs. team improvement or accomplishment. Academy formats do not have the short-term goal of winning a game at ages U-10 and below. In this format, the role of the soccer associations, clubs, and youth coaches is to develop players first. Then at U-11 and above start to incorporate the technically gifted and sound players into set teams that can compete and win with increased skills and flair. The premise of academy training is that “player development” is what is in the best interest of young players. It is at this young age that a player needs to learn the skill sets to ultimately play soccer at a higher level. The Academy format offers this special vehicle.