The Steel United National Program is a unique player experience for Steel United boys and girls from across the country to come together, train and play in an intensive atmosphere. The National Program provides our elite players opportunities beyond their local Steel United team and experience an even higher level of competition and play. Players are exposed to a professional level program and experience what it is like to participate in that type of atmosphere.

The National Program starts with the identification process where players are nominated by their local Head Coach and Director of Coaching. Our National Director Of Player and Coach Development then will visit each club in the Spring to view all the players in the age group at each club and to evaluate the nominees and potentially add any players to the list. In consultation with the Directors of Coaching, the National Director of Player and Coach Development selects 24 players in each age group and gender to attend the National Program Camp, which is held at the beginning of August. Beyond the camp, the 24 players can be selected for additional tournaments and tours both domestically and internationally.

At the camp players will experience the following:

• Technical Training
• Tactical Training
• GPS/Heart Rate Training
• Yoga
• Swimming (if available)
• Cardio/Weight Training
• Video Analysis
• Data Analysis
• Player Progress Report
• Intra Squad Scrimmages
• Position Specific Training

In today’s youth soccer market, players and parents need guidance during the athletic recruitment and admissions process. The Steel United College Development Program aims to educate our players and parents, not only on the soccer recruitment process but also the general college admissions process. Each family has unique needs and individual situations, and our modules are designed to be interactive to allow a personalized program to meet those needs and situations.

Program Director Paul Payne is a 27-year veteran of college coaching, and he has an extensive network of coaches, colleagues and administrators in the college athletic world. Our program aims to educate everyone involved in making one of the most important decisions that a student-athlete and parent must make. We assist you in finding the right fit. Since 2010, we have supported the placement of over 500 players into college soccer programs, plus hundreds of alumni who decided not to play competitive soccer in college. During the process, we host seminars, webinars, videos and interactive sessions to provide a well-rounded education on recruitment and admissions.