About this program
Eugene Metro FC seeks to provide an organized, meaningful, and exciting soccer experience for each of our premier academy age players and teams.
EMFC places a high premium on providing our youngest players with all the fundamentals in each of the soccer pillars (Physical, Technical, Tactical and Psycho-social). We want to develop confident and proactive players who enjoy a passion for the game. In addition, we believe in the core values of commitment, work rate, respect, community and a desire for learning.
Player Selection
There will be an annual tryout in May. Players will be selected in the age band August 1 to July 31. You can read more about the new age group change here. The tryout is an initial selection process that functions as a starting point. Our coaches continue to ensure that players are placed in the appropriate environment for their development.
Premier Team
We will select committed players who have the skill set to train and compete at the highest level. We will select a roster of 15-18 players and they will train and play in the ECNL Far West Conference. The commitment level on this team is very high.
Competitive Team 1
We will select committed players who have the skill set to train and compete at a very high level. We will select a roster of 15-18 players who will train in and compete in the ECNL Regional League. The commitment level for this team is also high. The training and game schedule matches our Premier team closely. As in all our age groups, we monitor players and often provide opportunities to train up, guest play, and if needed we adjust team placement.
Competitive Teams 2+
We form Competitive teams with roster of 14-16 players. Those teams train slightly less and a have a longer break over the winter to allow for other sports. We intend to form 2-3 Competitive teams to allow players to develop over time. These teams allow players who either might not be fully committed to year round soccer, late developers, or who entered late to competitive soccer an opportunity to continue to play competitive soccer As in all our age groups, we monitor players and often provide opportunities to train up, guest play, and if needed we adjust team placement.
Commitment Level
Our program is built around an annual curriculum and game model. However, we understand that at the younger ages other sports and other interests might conflict at times with our regular program. We do support players who play other sports and will work with families to make it work. Typically, on our Premier teams the commitment level is highest and on our Competitive teams, we already have build in breaks that work well with other sports. We ask families to be proactive in their communication with our coaches to avoid surprises. We have good experiences with basketball in the winter, track in the spring and baseball/softball in the spring. We believe that even if a player misses a few practices/games over a long season, keeping the player on the ball is critical for his/her development.
In this age group we will move from an Academy based training to a team based training. Teams in this age group will play 11v11. Coaches across age and gender pools communicate on a regular basis to provide additional opportunities for players.
Program Calendar
| Age groups | Summer | Fall | December/January | February to early May |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U13 and U14 Premier Boys in ECNL Girls in ECNL RL | 3 Trainings, 2 Summer tournaments (OR/WA) | 3 Training, ECNL and ECNL RL League games | Futsal sessions and some outdoor sessions | 3 training sessions, ECNL and ECNL RL League games |
| U13 and U14 Competitive Comp 1 Boys ECNL RLin Fall and Winter/Spring Comp 1 and 2 Girls in OYSA | 2 Training and every other Friday, 2 Summer tournaments OR | 2 Training and every other Friday, OYSA League games | Break with indoor options | 2 training sessions and every other Friday, ECNL RL and OYSA League games. Comp 2 teams will continue in OYSA |
Program Objectives
The U13 to U14 Teams and their coaching staff follow a progressive curriculum to provide learning opportunities and challenges for all players. The Premier program prepares players for the highest and most competitive level of play in national platforms – ECNL for boys, ECNL RL for girls. The Competitive 1 boys teams will also play in national platform – ECNL RL. Each team will follow the EMFC Game Model to allow players who want to move up opportunities with the next level team.
Players in these teams typically enjoy to play in a competitive environment, prepare for their respective high school programs.
