The Academy is a soccer training program held one night per week.   It is a low-pressure, low-commitment introduction to the type of high-level training that can be found when making a full-year commitment to an elite program.  It is meant to supplement the training of players who participate in their community or school programs but have not made a full-year commitment with a higher level club.

Primary Objectives/Benefits 

• Offer players a chance to experience high-level training throughout the year without making a full-year commitment;
• Introduce techniques players can utilize to perfect their own technical skill development at their club or school training sessions;
• Introduce players across different schools and clubs in order to build new friendships;
• Assist in the training of volunteer coaches by providing them the opportunity to observe different activities they can replicate in their own training environments;
• Players considering a full-year commitment to FC Pittsburgh can get a feel for the club before committing.

The Academy provides a low-pressure, yet structured, approach to skill development.  It provides a break to the committed player who wants more touches without the performance pressure associated with a high-level team.  It also provides an opportunity for players who want more training and have the athletic ability to participate but cannot make a full-year commitment to the club.

FC Pittsburgh Academy Age Groups
The Academy will attempt to group players by gender according to grade in the following groupings: 

• 2nd & 3rd Grade
  
• 4th & 5th Grade 
  
• 6th & 7th Grade
  
• 8th & 9th Grade

However, this might not always be possible.  It will be driven by the number of signups within each group.  The FC Pittsburgh coaches often hear parents express concern about commitment and ability levels of players within a group and the impact it has upon their own child.  After years of playing and coaching literally thousands of players, the FC Pittsburgh coaches have learned that excellent coaches can dynamically create and re-create "sub-groups" within a training session.  Players work with similar ability levels but can also be dominant in some situations and then play against a higher level in other situations.  The best player development environment is not for the player to participate at the highest competitive level every second of every training session.  The best training environment is when the player can seamlessly move back and forth between multiple ability levels throughout a series of sessions.  The Academy is specifically designed to promote this optimal training environment.

2011-2012 Fall Session

• Monday Evenings, 09/12, 09/19, 09/26, 10/03,10/10,10/17, 10/24
  
• 6:00pm til 7:30pm or dark, whichever comes first
• Eden Christian Academy (318 Nicholson Road, Sewickley, PA 15143)
• Cost $75.00 per player (no discounts for late signups)
• Register at FC Pittsburgh Online (Sorry - no walk-on registrations)
• Questions? Send your email to academy@fcpsoccer.com

When registering online, please be sure to list complete the family contact and player data profiles.  It will be hard for us to group players in advance without complete player information.