San Diego’s new professional men’s soccer team, in the lead-up to its inaugural season, has been involved in the community. That includes San Diego’s youth.
San Diego FC recently announced its SD Youth Soccer Initiative, which is designed to develop the region’s soccer programs by partnering with local clubs, organizations and community institutions.
According to Bill Miles, SDFC’s COO and executive director of SDFC’s Right to Dream Academy, the club has been running free clinics with San Diego youth for some time now. The initiative, though, is a way to make it more official.
San Diego FC is proud to announce the launch of the SD Youth Soccer Initiative, an innovative collaboration with local soccer clubs, organizations, and community institutions designed to bolster youth development throughout San Diego County.
— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) January 29, 2025“About maybe two months or so ago, as we got closer to the season, [the clubs] were showing interest around, well, how do we go to games? Or, now that the players are here, what happens? So we kind of moved more toward a little bit more of a formal relationship,” Miles said.
While the initiative hosts clinics for young players within the San Diego Unified School District, it also works to provide access to professional-grade training and facilities for emerging talent across the region.
According to a SDUSD representative, the program currently provides free soccer clinics for middle school athletes in grades 6-8. Additionally, SDFC provides free assistance with recruiting and the certifications of coaches.
“Maybe they’re interested in nutrition, athletic training or sports psychology because we have experts in all these fields. We can provide access to resources like that. You know, because (San Diego Surf Soccer Club), Albion (SC) and those guys don’t really need us running clinics, they do that pretty well themselves,” Miles said. “So it’s more for different audiences, we offer different things.”
The team is working to meet the community where it is, he said, providing what local organizations need to elevate their ability to train the next wave of soccer players.
“We’re just kind of adding our piece to an already very soccer-rich area,” Miles said.
San Diego FC will play their first game on Feb. 23, when they will face the Los Angeles Galaxy on the road.
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