Orlando, Fla.- In conjunction with Orlando City Soccer Club’s (OCSC) move to Major League Soccer (MLS) beginning in 2015, Orlando City Youth Soccer (OCYS) today announced that their U.S. Soccer Development Academy program will transition into a model that is mandated by MLS. Moving forward, OCSC will align themselves with other MLS clubs by providing Development Academy (DA) players with funding for registration, travel and uniform costs.

“Having a fully funded program for the kids is really exciting,” said OCYS Executive Director Steve Rammel. “This is a great step forward for the development of youth soccer in Florida and throughout MLS. Having a fully funded program presents a great opportunity for young children who aspire to play soccer at the highest level, especially now that they do not have to worry about the costs associated with playing and traveling.”

This announcement is the first of its kind in Florida. The DA funding will come directly from the professional club and is not correlated with any of the other programs within the youth club or its operating budget. Alleviating such mounting costs will not only help align the DA program with the MLS professional youth model, but will also allow the club to continue to focus on supporting the development of young players.

“The fact that we are fully funding the DA program shows that we are taking youth development very seriously,” said Director of Coaching Adrian Heath. “The message is clear that we want to take our homegrown DA players and ultimately get them on our pro roster. Ideally, in five years’ time, we [OCSC] would like to have a substantial amount of our roster made up of players from our Academy. Developing and training our own homegrown players will also foster a sense of pride that is key to Orlando City’s identity.”

The USSDA was created in 2007, and is the highest level of competition for boys in the United States. The USSDA’s primary focus is to develop young players through quality training, while also exposing players to limited, meaningful competition. This game-centric approach allows for long-term development to occur through a deep understanding of what makes players successful around the world. The U.S. Soccer Federation also requires DA programs to scout players from outside of their club.

Virtually all college programs use the Development Academy program as a scouting vehicle and the program has received increased attention from professional scouts representing domestic and international clubs. Recently, OCYS held its first annual National Signing Day in which 27 young players announced their college commitments, many of whom are members of OCYS’ USSDA program.

Including amongst those 27 commits were also numerous female players who are a part of OCYS’ Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) program. Similar to the DA program, the ECNL is the highest level of competition for youth female soccer players in the world and OCYS has continued to support that program as well. During the 2013-2014 ECNL season, the club funded the program’s conference travel costs for each ECNL player, and will continue to do so for the 2014-2015 ECNL season.

Any players interested in joining the OCYS U.S. Soccer Development Academy program can email [email protected]! Included in the email should be the players' name, address, email, phone number, club, team, age and position.