To give aspiring youth soccer players a quicker chance to one day play for Atlanta United, the team will start its academy in the summer of 2016, less than a year ahead of when the MLS club will begin play. The academy will be a part of U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy.
“People are excited about Atlanta United coming in and that this will be good for everybody,” Atlanta United President Darren Eales said. “We’ll get more kids playing at grassroots level and up to Atlanta United.”
Eales said he has no doubt there should be first-team players graduating from the Academy because the metro Atlanta area is a hotbed for youth soccer talent. Sean Johnson, Clint Mathis, Jack McInerney and Josh Wolff are a few of the players to come up through soccer in the area and go on to success in MLS or overseas.
“How exciting would it be for them to play in their hometown for Atlanta United?” Eales said.
Eales and technical director Carlos Bocanegra will hire an academy director within the next two months to oversee five age groups: Under 18 years old, under-16, under-14, under-13 and under-12. Eales envisions approximately 20 players on each team, with two coaches for each team as well as one goalkeeping coach who will work with each squad. The youth players will also have access to the equipment, technology and support staff that will serve Atlanta United. Participating in the academy is free.
The teams will play in a temporary home until Atlanta United’s complex in DeKalb County opens in Jan. 2017.
The players will attend their respective schools during the day, and train with their Atlanta United teams at night. Eales said the under-18 players may train four nights a week with games on the weekend. The younger players may train three nights a week with a game on the weekend.
Because there are different paths to the first team, Eales said someone will be employed to help players who aren’t yet ready for the first team find colleges or other opportunities to play soccer. Should they continue to develop and seem like a good fit for Atlanta United’s first team, they can return.
The plans for Atlanta United’s academy were shared on Monday with coaches and officials from the Concorde Fire, officials and coaches from Georgia United Soccer Alliance, as well as those from local colleges. Concorde Fire is also a member of the U.S. Development Academy. GUSA will drop its two older teams when Atlanta United comes online and keep its U-13 and U-14 teams in the U.S. Development Academy.
Eales said the goal of the academy will be focused solely on development. The players will be taught the proper way to eat and cook by nutritionists. The mental part of the game will honed by pscyhologists. The players will be taught leadership by standing in front of their peers and reviewing previous games, which is something Eales said the youth players did at his former club, Tottenham Hotspur in England’s Premier League.
“All of those things that need to go into becoming a professional athlete,” he said.
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