McLean Youth Soccer and Arlington Soccer Form ECNL Alliance

McLean Youth Soccer and Arlington Soccer Association have formed an alliance to provide high-level joint training to some of the finest - and youngest - female players in each club. The move is part of a national trend by clubs to combine training resources and top coaching talent to prepare young players for later national and international competition.

The McLean and Arlington soccer clubs are considered regional soccer powerhouses that together serve 13,500 players. Each has large recreational and travel programs, with each having many travel teams that are regionally and nationally ranked. Both clubs are committed to enhancing player pathways across their recreational and travel programs, with this alliance principally focused on development of the girls’ elite player.

The training center concept will be managed by McLean under the auspices of its charter with the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL). McLean Girls Technical Director Clyde Watson will oversee weekly training for 11 to 13 year old girls that will be selected by the coaching staff in each club. Arlington’s Director of Coaching German Peri will work collaboratively with Watson to ensure high quality training that will benefit the players and coaches of each club. Watson said that the program will begin next fall and involve over 50 young women with equal representation from each of the clubs. This training will complement the existing training of each of the respective home clubs and is intended to provide an introduction to ECNL and accelerate the development of elite talent.

“In every training session, we intend to expose these young women to best practices in a most competitive environment.” said Clyde Watson. “They will become stronger players and will transfer skills and knowledge back to their home teams to make other players and our clubs stronger.”

It will make both of our clubs and our respective players better, “ said German Peri. This will be similar to regional and national training programs run by US Soccer.”

“Our league’s mission is to develop elite women soccer players and soccer clubs in the US. Affiliations between top clubs like McLean and Arlington will help accomplish that” said Sarah Kate Noftsinger, ECNL commissioner. “We congratulate McLean for taking the lead and forming an affiliation that will further enhance ‘her’ development and we commend both clubs for making this happen.”

Watson concluded, “The idea is for our two clubs to collaborate to help our kids improve during the week, then shake hands and do our best to defeat each other on the weekends!”