Benefits of Joining as an Academy Affiliate

The Sporting Family has grown over the past year and a half. We are now at 17 total Academy Affiliate clubs! Being a part of the Sporting family has many benefits and provides various opportunities for players, coaches and directors.

As we get ready to enter the tryout period for many clubs, we wanted to highlight a few of the benefits.

Academy Affiliate players have the opportunity to participate in unique experiences such as the Spring or Fall All-Star event, more direct access to the SKC Academy teams and SKC Youth Soccer and Academy coaches.

There are several unique experiences for coaches as well. These experiences include SKC Observation Days, where coaches have the opportunity to watch training sessions and engage with the staff from Sporting Kansas City, SKC II and the SKC Academy. Coaches also have access to monthly activities and sessions sent from the SKC Academy staff.

Directors from our Academy Affiliate clubs have the opportunity to participate in summits connecting with other club directors. They also have the opportunity to receive technical and business consultation from the full-time staff of Sporting Club; including Technical staff and Youth Soccer staff.

Ultimately, a majority of the value in being an Academy Affiliate club comes from the consistent connection with the Sporting KC Youth Soccer and Academy staff. Having this connection allows for all involved to collaborate and introduce new initiatives.

Some new initiatives include the Sporting Development League and the Academy Affiliate Committees. Coaches, players and parents have already been able to benefit from these new opportunities.

In the end, Sporting Club aims to provide players and coaches meaningful experiences that inspire them to strive towards reaching their full potential. We aim to do this by recognizing players and coaches as people first and then as soccer players or professionals.