WHY CHOOSE SFEA?

Why choose the San Francisco Elite Academy?

To be the best youth soccer player you can be.
To learn from respected, highly-licensed and accomplished coaches.
To play with and against the best competition your age in northern California and beyond.
To train and play on some of the best facilities the city has to offer.
To be supported by a team of coaches and mentors dedicated to your holistic development.
To open doors to play in college and professionally, as well as with our USL2 (men's) partner San Francisco City FC or WPSL (women's) partner San Francisco Nighthawks.

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TO BE THE BEST,
PLAY WITH THE BEST.

The San Francisco Elite Academy provides youth soccer players, ages 7-18, boys and girls, access to the highest levels of competitive soccer play by playing on strong teams of committed players. Our teams compete in NorCal, NorCal State Cup, NorCal NPL, and NorCal Champions League. We are the ONLY San Francisco club with Automatic NPL entry for both boys and girls at U12. We also feature a Boys US Soccer Development Academy, as well as player path partnerships with San Francisco City FC (men's USL2) and San Francisco Nighthawks (women's WPSL). Importantly, we place our top teams into the best tournament and showcase competitions in the nation (e.g. Surf Cup, Jefferson Cup), giving players the platform to be seen by college recruiters and be on the path to play at the next level.

COACHES MATTER. A LOT.

SFEA coaches rank among the most respected in our entire region. They are leaders in the soccer community who boast vast coaching experience, individual honors, and have led many, many teams to success. We have 7 US Soccer Federation "A" licensed coaches and 8 US Soccer Federation "B" licensed coaches across a limited number of elite teams. Others boast of having "more" overall licensed coaches (of any level) because they feature three or more times as many teams than SFEA. Year after year, SFEA has the lowest level of coaching (and therefore player) turnover you'll find in San Francisco. It's because we select our coaches carefully and put a high-quality coach to work on each of our teams. And many of our SFEA coaches work in the college and high school ranks, lead ODP and PDP teams, and have national teams experience.

TRAIN IN THE SIZE SPACE YOU PLAY.

All SFEA teams get extra training opportunties, many of which are spent on private, soccer-first facilities here in San Francisco. We put an emphasis on getting teams training opportunties in field spaces appropriate for their age and level of play. We consider this a "Focussed Training Environment" where players and their coaches can train without the interruptions, distractions, and space restrictions often happened on crowded, multi-use city-provided fields. These facilties include the University of San Francisco, CCSF, San Francisco State and Paul Goode in the Presidio. All are sometimes used for matches, too, including the beautiful upper soccer field at Skyline Community College.

BE STRONGER. GET FASTER.
STAY HEALTHY. PURSUE YOUR SOCCER DREAMS.

We surround SFEA players with not only great coaches and fellow players, but carefully planned supplemental programs to support their development, health and safety, as well as path to play in college. All players receive standardized online and trackable player evaluations. Our younger teams receive age-appropriate Soccer Performance training to help with core physical development, soccer coordinations, and athleticism; and our older teams get similar (yet more intensive) programming through our integrated SAQ work. Both programs are led by a dedicated coach. In addition, we offer Peak Performance, a sports psychology program that supports players not only on the field but in life. We also have certified physical trainers and a partnership with a sports medicine group. Lastly, we provide all of our players free access to College Fit Finder, a powerful set of tools to help them navigate the college recruiting landscape, while providing a dedicated College Play counselor to help them individualize their plan.

FOR US, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PLAYERS.
AND WE'VE PROVED IT.

We were the FIRST club in San Francisco to be recognized by US Club with a national 'Players First' license, an accreditation only shared among 59 other clubs across the nation. Players First recognizes SFEA's outstanding commitment to player, coaching and club development, as well as our ongoing work to promote player safety and facilitate parent education. Furthermore, SFEA has a proven track record of developing high-quality players. We currently have 40 players in Norcal PDP and Cal North ODP (invitation-only regional programs) player pools. And in only five years we've placed over 30 graduating players into college programs with our 2019 class including NCAA Division I commitments on both the girls and boys side of our program.

MAKING PAY TO PLAY
INTO ANYONE CAN PLAY.

Each year, the San Francisco Elite Academy provides well over $100,000 in scholarships and financial aid. Through the generous gifts from our member, private donors, as well as sponsors and charitable organizations, we are able to make sure that no deserving player is denied participation in our program. Just as important, the San Francisco Elite Academy partners (and supports in various ways) numerous soccer and youth programs in order to support the broader San Francisco community. These partners include America Scores, IFC, the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, Yours In Soccer, and the newly-formed Heritage Football Club.

Why choose the San Francisco Elite Academy?

What do our players say about developing at SFEA?

ARE YOU READY FOR THE #NEXTLEVEL ?