“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and 
I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” 

Abraham Lincoln 

Three-Phase Training Approach

U7 and U8
Learning Phase

Players in this age group will train separately from the rest of the club as they need a higher level of attention. Play at this age is designed to be fun, and improve the child's understanding of the game. Training will be focused on developing skills through repetition, as the children will learn how to do a variety of moves, and then use them over and over in a series of fun games designed to highlight those skills. They will also learn balance and coordination to complement their skill development. The purpose of this age group is to provide them with the necessary skills to the graduate on to the U10 level where they become integrated into the Club Academy Training.

U9 through U12
Development Phase

The U9-U12 age groups are coupled together in the development phase, as these are the ages defined by US Soccer as the best ages to acquire and develop skill. AFC will focus on building off the skills learned in the Learning Phase, and how to utilize these skills in game specific situations. As well, more advanced skills will be introduced, and players will begin to learn how to play with one another as a team. This will be done through the use of small sided games as recommended by US Youth Soccer. Tactics will begin to be introduced in the U12 age group as this is the age when they can begin to understand the concepts of Soccer. However, a large portion of the training will be focused on skill development.

U13 and Above
Implementation Phase

This phase of the training will be highly focused on tactics and learning to play as team in the 11v11 format. This age group is primed to receive tactical knowledge, and our coaches will begin implementing the club tactical focus of possession play. Skills will continued to be developed, but AFC coaches expect players skill level to be high as they have gone through the first two phases of the three phase process which are based on the learning and development of skill.  These are the ages where we begin to transition to competitive league play, as we expect to compete at these age groups.