CHAPTER FOUR:
THE FOUNDING OF
US YoUTH SOCCER
US Youth Soccer was not the first organizing body for the youth game in America. That designation goes to AYSO – or the American Youth Soccer Organization. Founded in 1964, nearly ten years before USYS, AYSO is the oldest national youth soccer organization in the country. It was founded in a garage in Torrance, California and is still headquartered there today. But, USYS gave youth soccer in this country a structure that it needed to both expand and create pathways for players to ascend from the club ranks to the national team. This infrastructure came at a time, in the 70s, when a boom in youth soccer participation was occurring, driven largely by the suburban middle class.
(Photo credit: EDP Soccer)
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CHAPTER FOUR
THE FOUNDING OF US YOUTH SOCCER
One of the key attributes of US Youth Soccer is that it’s an association of other associations. The organization provides national and competitive alignment to regional and state sub-organizations. US Youth Soccer includes 54 State Associations, one per state except for California, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, which each have two State Associations.
Over the years, USYS has developed a wide array of its own competitive programs. It holds the annual US Youth Soccer National Championships for age groups from under-13 to under-19. USYS also operates the US Youth Soccer National League National select teams compete in tournaments against clubs in other youth leagues, such as the Elite Clubs National League. This gives USYS a menu of options for all competitive levels, allowing players to begin their soccer career locally and compete across the state, region or country.
(Photo credit: Illinois Youth Soccer)
Our GUESTS
Skip Gilbert is an American sports executive and retired U.S. soccer player, who has been the CEO of US Youth Soccer since 2020. He was a two-time NCAA Division I First-Team All-American goalkeeper and played one season in the North American Soccer League. His business career includes roles in executive management, sales and sales management, marketing and event operations. He held these roles with companies such as the United States Tennis Association, USA Triathlon, USA Swimming, US Soccer, the Arena Football League and the Sporting News.
Thom Meredith is a retired US Soccer executive who worked behind the scenes in some of the most important American soccer events in history. He acted as the Day of Game Event Producer at the Chicago venue for the opening game at the 1994 FIFA Men’s World Cup watched by a billion TV viewers worldwide. Meredith had senior event and venue management responsibilities at the 1996 Olympic Soccer Tournament Medal Round matches. as well as the at the 1999 Women’s World Cup at its NY/NJ, Foxboro, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Pasadena, CA venues. He also had senior event responsibilities at the 1984 Los Angeles and the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
To learn more about US Youth Soccer and its importance to the growth of the game in America, we recommend the following resources.
Books
- Generation Zero by Hal Phillips
Articles
Wesbites
Our PERSPECTIVE
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