In August 2007, Western New York’s top soccer clubs, the Rochester Junior Rhinos, Syracuse Football Club and Buffalo United Soccer Club joined together to form the Empire United Soccer Academy.  In the Spring of 2009, Crown City FC from the Cortland/Homer area joined the Academy.  In the fall of 2009 CNY Soccer Club of Syracuse  joined the Empire United Soccer Academy.  The unification of these clubs, acknowledges their strong working relationship and shared vision of the development of youth soccer and makes EUSA one of the largest Soccer Clubs in the Northeast USA.  This combined organization will enable soccer players at all levels to attain their individual goals and maximize their potential.  In fact, the strength of the new club was recognized when Empire USA received one of the sixty-four initial memberships in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy..

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution has formed a strategic partnership with New York-based Empire United, a youth development program that also plays in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Beginning with the 2012-13 season, Empire United will become “Revolution Empire, A New England Revolution Soccer Club.”
 
Revolution Empire will be the Revolution’s first affiliate youth club, allowing its Academy players, coaches and development-level players access and involvement in the Revolution Academy development and competition system, with the ultimate goal to produce Revolution Home Grown players.
 
“We’re very excited and eager to announce Empire United as our first youth development affiliate club,” New England Revolution General Manager Michael Burns said. “This year, we’ve already expanded our development model by adding an Under-14 team. Now with this partnership with Empire United, we’re expanding our geographic footprint. On top of the successful system we already have in place, we expect this new integrated organization will allow us to identify and develop more players who will one day represent the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.”
 
On the competitive side, the Revolution Academy and Revolution Empire youth teams will continue to compete as separate teams in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. However, both teams will train and develop under a similar system and Empire’s youth teams will be afforded the same training opportunities with the New England Revolution senior team as the Revs’ youth teams.
 
Empire’s elite youth team players will have the opportunity to train with the Revolution first team during the summer months. They can also earn call-ups to the Revolution Reserve team during its 10-game season and Empire’s players will get first-hand coaching from the Revolution Academy coaches at home in Western New York throughout the year.
 
“This promises to be an exciting and fruitful relationship for both Empire United and the New England Revolution,” Revolution Director of Youth Development Bryan Scales said. “When we started having conversations about affiliates, it was very important that we found the right people and the right development model to partner with. We feel we’ve found a perfect fit with Jim Mort, Chris Apple and the entire Empire United family.”
 
Empire’s coaches will have opportunities for ongoing coaching and personal development through the Revolution Academy, including training and education sessions with the Revolution first team and youth technical staffs. Additionally, the Revolution and Empire youth technical staffs will collaborate to introduce a consistent training system for both clubs’ development systems.
 
“Our New England Revolution partnership will provide an exceptional resource that will help Empire improve the standard of youth soccer in Central and Western New York,” Jim Mort, Executive Director of Empire United, said. “We want to be a primary asset to identify young players that have the potential of playing at a professional level and give them the training, facilities, resources and professional coaching in an extraordinary learning environment. We are dedicated to creating opportunities for our young players to excel.”
 
On the development side, the Revolution Academy Regional Development School will establish training programs – both week-long and residential, similar to its New England-based programs – in the Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo markets in partnership with Empire. These training and identification courses for all age groups provide young players the opportunity to get professional coaching and evaluation.
 
Additionally, the Empire Training Center (previously the Market Training Center) will expand with support from the Revolution Academy’s coaching staff. The ETC is an early identification program that allows elite players to be evaluated by Empire’s technical staff for consideration for the club’s Development Academy teams, similar to the Revolution Training Centers with the same mission.
 
“Partnering with the New England Revolution is an incredible opportunity for Empire United and I could not be more excited,” Chris Apple, Director of Coaching for Empire United, said. “Similar to a European club, our players and coaches will now have access to the knowledge, training program and innovation of a professional soccer team. This is a huge step forward for Empire and one that will keep us on the cutting edge of the game and enhance our ability to provide our players with the best developmental experience possible.”
 
For more information about the Revolution Academy - both the competitive youth teams (Under-18, Under-16 and Under-14) and Player Development Programs (including the Regional Development School and residential academy among other programs) – please visit revolutionsoccer.net/academy. For up-to-the-minute information on the Revolution, visit the team’s official web site at revolutionsoccer.net, or follow the team on Twitter at @NERevolution, or on Facebook at facebook.com/NERevolution. For more information about Revolution tickets, special packages and 2012 season tickets, call 1-877-GET-REVS or visit revolutionsoccer.net.
 
For more information about Empire United, please visit empireunitedsa.org.

Algonquin Sports for Kids, working in collaboration with the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County and the Independent Health Foundation, has been named the recipient of a two year Social Innovation Fund sub-grant from the U.S. Soccer Foundation.

The grant awards $300,000.00 a year, with a possible extension for an additional three years. The money will be used to fund the implementation of aSoccer for Success program here in Buffalo. Soccer for Success is the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s after-school, sports-based youth development program that uses soccer as a tool to combat childhood obesity and provides nutrition education and mentorship to children in at-risk communities.

The collaboration among Algonquin Sports for Kids, the United Way, and the Independent Health Foundation was one of 13 successful applications from across the country, and the only one in New York State, to receive this grant and was chosen based on the past successes of the three organizations involved in using physical activity to promote health and wellness in the children who participate in their programming. The US Soccer Foundation believes that Algonquin Sports, the United Way, and the Independent Health Foundation will be able to deliver an excellent Soccer for Success program to the children of WNY.

The staff of Buffalo Soccer Club, the pilot program of Algonquin Sports for Kids, will be responsible for the day-to-day planning and execution of the Soccer for Successcurriculum at 10 - 14 schools within the Buffalo Public School system, working with 1,000 children in grades 3 – 5. The program will run after-school during the 2012-2013 school year, beginning in September.

“Algonquin Sports for Kids and Buffalo Soccer Club are excited to collaborate with the Independent Health Foundation and the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County to bring such a influential program to the Buffalo community,” says Buffalo Soccer Club Program Director, Anna-Lesa Calvert. “Sports can play an integral role in a child’s development when they are used as a tool to teach important life skills. Buffalo Soccer Club looks forward to implementing the Soccer for Success program and its proven curriculum to students in the Buffalo Public Schools.”

In August 2011, the U.S. Soccer Foundation received a grant from the prestigious 2011 Social Innovation Fund, on behalf of the Corporation for National and Community Service, to support programs that promote healthy lifestyles and reduce obesity rates for children in urban, underserved communities. The U.S. Soccer Foundation, the Major Charitable Arm of Soccer in the United States, was one of five intermediaries to receive this award. In 2012, the Soccer for Success program will expand to serve thirteen cities and over 12,000 children, as a result of the award the U.S. Soccer Foundation received from the Social Innovation Fund.

The grant was announced at a press conference held at Public School 54, the Dr. George E. Blackman School of Excellence, one of the schools that will benefit from the Soccer for Success program.

We strive to provide all players, challenging programs that will offer opportunities to participate in developmentally appropriate competitions. Achieving this goal will allow players to gain exposure and enhance their opportunities to further their development as student athletes. 

On a continual basis, U.S. Soccer provides constructive feedback on how Empire United (EUSA) can improve as a soccer club, as well as, at the U.S. Development Academy team level. The key message to EUSA over and over is “recognize, identify, and train potential academy players at younger ages to maximize their potential and development.”

Market Training Centers

Recently Empire United has been organizing Market Training Centers (MTCs) for players in all of the EUSA organizations (Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse) in age groups U11 through U15 for both boys and girls. The MTCs are taking place once a month between January and April 2012. There is no extra fee to participate other than the cost of traveling to the facility (carpooling is suggested). The MTCs will take place in all three cities and it’s encouraged that players attend the MTCs whenever invited.

The goal for the MTCs is two-fold: 1) To bring together top players from across the state to participate in high level academy-style training sessions at an earlier age; 2) Start identifying players for our Boys U.S. Development Academy Program and our Girls EUSA Academy Program. In the past, we have waited until ages 15/16 to start engaging players and educating families on these programs and realize we need to improve this process.

The Academy

The goal of the Empire United “Academy” programs is to provide our most proficient players the opportunity to play with exceptional teammates in the advanced training environment against competition from the top clubs across the country. This is about player development and giving an opportunity for your son or daughter to reach his/her potential. During Developmental Academy matches, there are US Soccer Federation Staff (National Team Staff) in attendance, along with all the top colleges and universities, which gives them the best possible exposure as a soccer player.  Players performing well in the Academy and pre-academy ages have opportunities for invitations to US Soccer Training Centers (pre- National Team identification) and National Team Training Centers.    

When the Boys turn age 15 (some 14), they have an opportunity to earn a place on the USSF Developmental Academy Team (click the link for more information), to train and play with and against the best players at the highest level of youth soccer in the country. The decision to play with the Academy does not need to be made until that time. The MTCs are simply an additional training opportunity enabling the coaching staff to track players’ development. During the 2010-11 season, both our U15/16 and U17/18 teams won their divisions and competed in the playoffs against the top academies and MLS clubs.

EUSA’s Girls Academy is part of the USYSA National League, which is the top league in the country. As with the boys, the girls compete with and against the nation’s top clubs. This enables the girls to develop as players and get exposure to top colleges and USSF scouts and coaches. Similar to the boys, the girls academy teams compete in college showcase tournaments across the country attracting the top universities. During the 2011 season, our U16 EUSA Academy team placed 4^th in the Region 1 League earning acceptance in the National League at u17 to compete against the best in the country.  Beginning in July 2012, EUSA will field girls academy teams in the U15, U16, U17, and U18 age groups.

The Coaching Staff

A critical component of player development is to have a coaching staff with the experience and expertise to help each player achieve his or her full potential.  EUSA academy coaches relate well to players, run dynamic and challenging training sessions and place each player’s growth as the number one priority.  They have excellent coaching experience and the highest licenses available in the country.

Classes are available on Monday nights. All outdoor classes will be held at Epic Center on the Williamsville/Lancaster/Clarence town border. Click above for details.

Content to Send

• Images of players in action
• Team photos
• Relevant videos
• Self created article or blurb about team accomplishments
• Self created article or blurb about individual accomplishments
• Article found online or in print

Uses

• Facebook Posts
• Web Site Articles
• Email Blast Article / Notification from Demosphere
• Email Newsletter (Coming soon!)
• Twitter Tweets (Coming soon!)

* Not all content will be posted.  Empire United reserves the right to edit or exclude any content it receives!

U13-U14 parents will begin with “Sports Parenting in the 21^st Century” on January 25^th from 7:15-8:15 pm and U15-U18 parents from 7:15-8:15 pm on February 1^st. Parents will also complete “The Recruit Doctor” NCAA Academic and Athletic Evaluation Questionnaire to help assess where families are in the college prep process.

Empire USA's Syracuse GU18 team will be playing in the National League for the second year, and the Empire USA GU17 Academy team enters the league for the first time. 
 
The National League Boys will continue the 2011-2012 season in February alongside the Weston Cup in Weston, Fla. (Feb. 18-20) and will join the Girls at the Player’s College Showcase in Las Vegas.

Keep up with the National League all season:
National League Home: USYouthSoccer.org/National_League
Schedule and results: Tournaments.USYouthSoccer.org/events/2011-2012-National-League/
Twitter: @nationalleague
Facebook: Facebook.com/usyouthsoccer
You Tube: YouTube.com/usyouth

Summer Tryout Dates

Fall Tryout Dates

Winter Tryout Dates