Elite soccer competition requires social and financial sacrifices.

For those who play men’s youth soccer, there are several levels of competition: youth games, high school soccer and club soccer. Club soccer, at the highest level out of those three, is not quite the highest level in the country: the United States Soccer Development Academy is the most elite.

The USSDA claims to be the uppermost level of youth soccer in the country, and is where most Division I recruiters go to find their future players. Many who play in this league continue their athletic careers to play professionally both in the U.S. and overseas.
There are currently 74 USSDA teams nationwide, separated into “conferences” with about nine teams in each. Their season is year-round, spanning from September to June.
USSDA athletes have the opportunity to compete against the highest-ranked players in the country and receive exposure from college and national team coaches throughout the year. The league has two showcases each year – one during the summer and one in the winter – where teams from across the country play against one another to determine which team will be named the best Development Academy in the country.

But playing for the USSDA comes at a social and financial price. It becomes up to the athlete and his parents to weigh the opportunity’s costs and rewards.

Among the league’s players is sophomore Quinn Matulis, who plays for his local club, Real So Cal Academy. Last year, he decided to take a break from the league in order to try high school soccer. Matulis was the only freshman on the varsity team, as well as the leading assister with eight assists.

“Playing for the varsity team was a great time because you get to represent your school and your friends come out to watch, but I prefer Academy because of the competitiveness and knowing you’re playing at the highest level is really fun,” Matulis said.

Although Academy is associated with prestige, joining it comes at a very expensive price tag.
“The cost to play is usually around the same as playing for any other club team, but the trips for showcases and games against out of conference teams can get pretty expensive. The clubs usually help players pay the trips by paying for part of it in exchange for volunteer hours for the club such as coaching or [refereeing],” Matulis said.

Diran Bebekian, a junior at Vista Grande High School in Arizona, is a youth player on the Real Salt Lake Arizona Academy. Bebekian used to play with Matulis at Real So Cal Academy until he moved on, eventually joining RSL-AZ in the summer of 2016.

In switching teams, Bebekian moved from his home in Southern California to Casa Grande, Arizona — alone — in order to pursue his dream of soccer. Bebekian said that he prefers playing Academy over any other level of soccer.

“I like it for the intensity and the competitiveness. The best of the best in the U.S. play in Academy, not in high school soccer,” Bebekian said.

Bebekian currently lives in a professional facility while playing in Arizona. He has access to state-of-the-art facilities, equipment and fields every day in order to train everyday and elevate his skill set to the professional level.

“I’m really pushing hard to become a pro, that’s my dream,” Bebekian said.

Freshman Erich Miller is another student athlete that is currently playing in the USSDA. Originally from Northridge, California, Miller decided to play at International Management Group Academy in Bradenton, Florida in order to follow his dreams of going pro. At the prestigious IMG Academy, athletes from all across the country pay enormous sums of money in order to ensure that they get to compete at the highest level possible.

Although competing at this elite level can be rewarding, Miller said that being away from home and family can be challenging.

“There are times where it gets rough and you don’t want to do it, but those are the times that get you better,” Miller said.

Despite his distance from home, Miller emphasized that living at a school as privileged as IMG Academy definitely has benefits.

“We get free gear, constant training physical therapy, weight sessions, mental conditioning and fantastic coaching and lots of opportunities,” Miller said.

Soccer players across the country dream of playing at such an elite level because of the competition, free equipment and the possibility to be watched by college coaches and recruiters. Miller said that in order to play at this level, the preparation is intense.

“You’ve got to be okay with taking criticism and being really pushed to your limits. You got to be able to mentally get back in a game when you are having an off day,” Miller said. “You have to be okay with understanding why you don’t play if you haven’t been doing well. And you need to get used to being super competitive and physical.”