San Diego FC Building a Youth Residential Academy…More to Follow?

The newly formed MLS team, San Diego FC, is building a $150 million residential academy. The “Right to Dream” facility will host players grades 6 through 12 (middle school and high school).

San Diego FC, understands how critical their youth program is to the development of their pro team.

The academy will be fully funded. There will also be boots on the ground consistently recruiting young talent. While other countries have done this for years, this model is starting to take shape in U.S. youth soccer.

I love this for U.S. soccer. It aligns well with what top European clubs like Ajax do. They’ve formed an incredible youth program with many elite players coming out of there. San Diego FC hopes to have similar results.

The location of the team makes it favorable to bring in international talent as well.

“Just think of the opportunity to co-mingle, co-mix the best kids from Tijuana with the best kids from Southern California, and then empower them with the best education, the best character development, and the best football development, which is what Right To Dream does, and you start looking where no one else is looking,”

San Diego FC CEO Tom Penn

The process will take some time but I think we’ll see other clubs follow San Diego’s lead.

In our area, the New England Revs have an offsite residential school that many players attend. This is a shift that will take some time and resources.

As more schooling can be done online, many students are shifting away from the traditional model. It’s a mindset shift, especially among us parents.

Hockey has been doing this for many years. For the top teams (and the right kid) in the country, this shift makes complete sense!