United Futbol Academy offers the Future Academy Program for players who are looking for a more challenging environment to develop their soccer skills.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Parent Information Meeting: All parents interested in having their kids participate in this program should attend.
Date: May 3, 2024 Time: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Location: Fowler Park, Field 5 Bleachers RSVP Here *We're adding Central Park Fall 2024
Player Evaluations: Boys & Girls
FOWLER
Date: May 17, 2024 Time: 5:00-6:30 p.m. Location: Fowler Park, Field 10 - Check in for number
CENTRAL PARK Date: May 25, 2024 Time: 5:00-6:30 p.m. Location: Central Park, Field 2
Evaluations for all interested players will be held on Friday, May 17th. Please register for the 2024-2025 Academy Tryouts program here prior to attending. Players should bring water, a ball and wear shin guards.
Participation Fee
2024-2025 Participation Fees is $1,240 for the combined Fall and Spring seasons as well as the uniform kit (shin guards, cleats and ball not included). Parents and players are committing to the program for 1 year. Fees will be prorated for players who join mid-year.
Uniforms
Uniform fitting will be held during the Player Evaluations. Uniforms are included in the Participation fees and parents will place the uniform order in the Lloyds website. (Shin guards, cleats and ball are not included.)
Training
Training will be twice per week for 1.5 hours per session. Training locations will be Fowler Park. NOTE: There is a potential for adding South Forsyth Soccer Complex to our options as well. Our goal is to develop a program at each location. Each location will train independently and come together for Friday games. All training sessions are designed and managed by professional staff along with club approved trainers with a focus on ball mastery, developing 1v1 skills (primarily), and then progressing to 2v1, 2v2 skills, etc. Our goal is to maintain a ratio of 1 trainer to every 10-12 players. Players will need to bring a size 3 soccer ball to practice.
Games
Games will be scheduled on Fridays at Fowler Park using one of the turf fields. Games will be in a 4v4 format; there will be no goalkeepers, throw-ins or corner kicks. Fields will be approximately 24x36 yards and the small-sided goals will be 3'x4'. There will be multiple games going on at the same time and, depending upon total number of players, we will have 1 or 2 time slots for players.
Players will not be placed on “teams” in the traditional sense. They will belong to a pool of players and can be placed on teams using a variety of criteria such as current level of play, randomly chosen teams, or mixing boys and girls, to name a few.
We will play in the 4v4 format for the Fall and Spring seasons. While it is possible that we could transition at some point in the Spring season to a larger format (6v6), it's not an expectation.
There is no team camp for the Future Academy players, interested players can register and attend the Ball Mastery Camp in July.
Training will begin in early August and finish up before Thanksgiving. The Spring season begins in early February and will be completed in mid May.
Special Note for Parents
This program is not going to be for everyone as it goes against some of the current traditions regarding team formation and game day events. If you are only focused on winning or how many goals your player scores, then this program will more than likely not be a good fit for your needs. The program is designed to provide what is best for individual player development. No coaching will be allowed from the parent sideline, either directed at your player or other players.
Contact
Coach Velko Iotov
U8 Future Academy Director - UFA Forsyth Velko@unitedfa.org
PLAYER REQUIREMENTS
The UFA Future Academy Program is for players who are born in 2017-2018. Candidates for the Future Academy program will exhibit the following:
· Ability to focus at training and games
· Self-motivated with a desire to be the best
· Enjoys dribbling the ball and does not just kick the ball away
· Good athletic ability including agility, coordination and speed
Ideally, players should be recommended for the program by their current coach, the Recreational Director or one of UFA’s professional staff. Players should have a minimum of 1 year playing in a recreational program. Parents who feel their players have the above qualities and have not been identified will have the opportunity to have their player assessed for placement.
Practice Days: Mondays & Wednesdays
Time: 5:00-6:30 p.m.