Walk into YSC Academy and you will notice the school looks and feels different from any other. That is because this environment was built with the student-athlete in mind. When YSC Academy opened its doors on September 3, 2013 to its first cohort of new students-athletes, it launched a new era in US soccer, integrating elite-youth-soccer development with a college-preparatory education.
YSC Academy provides a special opportunity for these motivated youth to pursue their dreams of playing high-level soccer while simultaneously engaging in a rigorous and high-quality education. Following the European sports-academy model, YSC Academy is the first independent school in the country to fully integrate a college-preparatory education with an MLS-affiliated, elite youth-soccer-development program.
At YSC Academy, athletics and academics are aligned to provide student-athletes the opportunity to maximize their potential both on and off the field of play. Students entering YSC Academy can originate from Philadelphia Union’s amateur-youth-soccer training and competition programs, as well as be recruited nationally or internationally. Student-athletes from the school do not play for a YSC Academy school team, but rather for their local club team or one of Philadelphia Union’s amateur Academy squads (U12, U13, U14, U15, U17D, U17, or U19). Some of YSC Academy student-athletes are also US National Team pool players. While the academic workload is comparable to other private schools, the difference centers on the educational approach and physical-education focus.
