What is the Virginia Olympic Development Program?
The VYSA Olympic Development Program has a designated five districts. The initial player identification stage begins with the district tryouts. A district pool of players is selected from the district tryouts by our high-level coaching staff. The district tryout registration fee is $40 online or $60 at the tryout site. Online registration ends seven days prior to tryouts; registering online saves you $20! When registering, please note that ODP goes by calendar year birth date.
Once started, the district pools will have seven training sessions. Players can also be added to the district pool, at any time, through the scouting of games. The district training sessions are generally held on a Friday night or weekend day so as to minimize conflicts with other soccer activities the players may have.
The last two training sessions in the district pool are called inter-district scrimmages. These events are held at the Publix Virginia Soccer Training Center on two separate weekends. From these scrimmages, the state pool is selected by the state coaching staff. On the first weekend, the districts will compete against each other. On the second weekend, the players will be mixed into different teams in order to compete against each other. Once selected, the state pools will have a minimum ten training sessions and a variety of events.
Not every state pool player goes to every event. The teams are picked by the state coaches, but all players will participate at some time during the season. The events start in January with the North Carolina Friendlies, in February with the Virginia Friendlies, and an international trip in March or April for two age groups. In June, there is the Region I Tournament and Region I Camps are held in July.
All events are priced separately and the budget is based on costs such as transportation, hotels, meals, coaches, etc. They generally range from $195- $500 per event; camp can range from $600 - $800. We try to keep the costs as low as possible for the players. There is financial aid and sponsorship information available for those families that may need assistance.
What is the East Region Olympic Development Program?
U.S. Youth Soccer divided the country into four regions; Virginia is part of East Region (formerly Region I.) U.S. Youth Soccer East Region covers the northeastern United States.
To learn more about the East Region ODP -CLICK HERE!
What is the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program?
The U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program was formed in 1977 to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a National Team will be selected for international competition; to provide high-level training to benefit and enhance the development of players at all levels; and, through the use of carefully selected and licensed coaches, develop a mechanism for the exchange of ideas and curriculum to improve all levels of coaching.
To learn more about the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP -CLICK HERE!