Girls Academy (GA) is a soccer league and development platform for female soccer players in the United States. Formed in 2020, the league features youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including National Women's Soccer League.
Competition format
Girls Academy features age groups starting at U-13 through U-19.[1] During the regular season, teams play other members from their respective conferences. The league includes ten conferences (Northwest, Pacific Northwest, Frontier, Mid-America, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Mountain West, Southeast, and Southwest).[2] Top teams from each conference will participate in Playoffs, and National Finals for qualifying teams based on playoff performance. Non-playoff teams will also participate in a season-ending showcase.
Different age groups will also have a varying number of national events throughout the year to provide additional talent showcase opportunities in front of college and professional scouts.
Champions League
Two members of each conference are selected for Champions League, a separate competition for the most competitive clubs in Girls Academy.[3] Participants qualify based on final league standings. For the U14 through U19 age groups, the highest-ranked wildcard teams at the National Playoff from each age group are added to the mix for a total of 20 teams per age group.
National events
Girls Academy hosts five national events each season — Winter Showcase, Champions Cup, Spring Showcase, Summer Showcase, and National Playoffs, plus two U13/U14 events: East and West regionals.[4]
History
Citing the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced it was ending the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, leaving top boys and girls clubs to look for a new home.[5] Former Development Academy clubs had a few options, many choosing to move to the Girls Academy,[6][7] founded by a group of leaders from the Development Player League (DPL).[8]
Former University of Washington women's soccer coach Lesle Gallimore served as its founding commissioner of the Girls Academy. She accepted the position in the summer of 2020, after the conclusion of her 26-year tenure as head coach of the women's soccer team at the University of Washington.
In October 2020, Girls Academy announced a strategic relationship with Major League Soccer and a partnership with USYS.[9] According to the press release, Girls Academy will work in coordination with MLS Next, to “deliver a true pyramid for female youth players in the US, with the GA serving as the USYS premier girls platform in conjunction with MLS.” The partnership will focus on establishing academy standards for coaching and player development, improving talent identification partnerships, enhancing coaching education, and creating competitions to showcase players. While GA will maintain full autonomy over its league, they will also benefit from advice from the leaders of MLS and USYS as it aims to become the premier league for elite female soccer players in the United States.
In June 2023, Lesle Gallimore announced her resignation as Girls Academy commissioner to become General Manager of NWSL club OL Reign.[10] Gallimore was succeeded by Patricia Hughes in September 2023.[11]
On February 10, 2024, U.S. Soccer approved Girls Academy as a National Affiliate member.[12][13]
For the 2023-24 season, Girls Academy included 95 teams.[18]
Conference
Member Name (Location)
Frontier
BVB International Academy NTX (Carrolton, TX)
Frontier
HTX Soccer (Houston, TX)
Frontier
Lonestar SC Red (Austin, TX)
Frontier
Lonestar SC Black (Austin, TX)
Frontier
Lou Fusz Athletic (St. Louis, MO)
Frontier
Louisiana TDP Elite (Baton Rouge, LA)
Frontier
Renegades Soccer Club (Richardson, TX)
Frontier
RISE Soccer Club (Houston, TX)
Frontier
San Antonio City SC (San Antonio, TX)
Frontier
St. Louis Development Academy (St. Louis, MO)
Mid-America
Chicago FC United (Glenview, IL)
Mid-America
Cincinnati United Premier (Cincinnati, OH)
Mid-America
Indy Premier United (Noblesville, IN)
Mid-America
Lexington Sporting Club (Lexington, KY)
Mid-America
Michigan Jaguars FC (Novi, MI)
Mid-America
Nationals Blue (Detroit, MI)
Mid-America
Nationals Gray (Detroit, MI)
Mid-America
Sockers FC (Chicago, IL)
Midwest
Central Illinois United (Rantoul, IL)
Midwest
Galaxy SC (Naperville, IL)
Midwest
Kansas Rush Soccer Club (Olathe, KS)
Midwest
Salvo SC (Rosemount, MN)
Midwest
SC Wave (Brookfield, WI)
Midwest
Sporting Nebraska FC (Omaha, NE)
Midwest
Tonka Fusion Elite (Plymouth, MN)
Midwest
VSA Rush (Waukee, IA)
Mid-Atlantic
Baltimore Armour (Baltimore, MD)
Mid-Atlantic
Baltimore Celtic (Baltimore, MD)
Mid-Atlantic
Beadling SC (Bridgeville, PA)
Mid-Atlantic
Century United FC (Pittsburgh, PA)
Mid-Atlantic
Keystone FC (Mechanicsburg, PA)
Mid-Atlantic
Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals (Philadelphia, PA)
Mid-Atlantic
PA Classics (Manheim, PA)
Mid-Atlantic
Real Jersey FC (Medford, NJ)
Mid-Atlantic
SJEB FC (Pitman, NJ)
Mid-Atlantic
Skyline Elite SC (Charlottesville, VA)
Mid-Atlantic
Sporting AC (Wilmington, DE)
Mid-Atlantic
TSJ FC Virginia (Leesburg, VA)
Mountain West
Albion SC Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)
Mountain West
Broomfield Soccer Club (Broomfield, CO)
Mountain West
Colorado Rush (Littleton, CO)
Mountain West
Las Vegas Sports Academy (Las Vegas, NV)
Mountain West
New Mexico Soccer Academy (Albuquerque, NM)
Mountain West
Rio Rapids SC (Albuquerque, NM)
Mountain West
Utah Celtic FC (Highland, UT)
Mountain West
Wasatch SC (Kaysville, UT)
Northeast
Cedar Stars Academy – Monmouth (Tinton Falls, NJ)
Northeast
Cedar Stars Academy – Bergen (Teaneck, NJ)
Northeast
Long Island SC (Glen Cove, NY)
Northeast
NEFC (Mendon, MA)
Northeast
New York Soccer Club (Purchase, NY)
Northeast
Oakwood SC (Glastonbury, CT)
Northeast
Rochester NYFC Youth (West Henrietta, NY)
Northeast
Seacoast United (Epping, NH)
Northeast
South Shore Select (Hingham, MA)
Northeast
STA (Morris Plains, NJ)
Northeast
Syracuse Development Academy (Solvay, NY)
Northwest
Almaden FC (San Jose, CA)
Northwest
Clovis Crossfire (Clovis, CA)
Northwest
Lamorinda SC (Orinda, CA)
Northwest
Los Gatos United (Los Gatos, CA)
Northwest
Sacramento United (Sacramento, CA)
Northwest
San Francisco Elite Academy (San Francisco, CA)
Northwest
Santa Clara Sporting (Santa Clara, CA)
Northwest
Silicon Valley SA (Palo Alto, CA)
Northwest
West Coast Soccer Club (Tracy, CA)
Pacific Northwest
Oregon Premier FC (West Linn, OR)
Pacific Northwest
Capital FC (Salem, OR)
Pacific Northwest
Columbia Premier SC (Vancouver, WA)
Pacific Northwest
Eugene Metro Fútbol Club (Eugene, OR)
Pacific Northwest
Liverpool FC IA Washington (Issaquah, WA)
Pacific Northwest
OL Reign Academy (Tacoma, WA)
Pacific Northwest
Spokane Sounders (Spokane, WA)
Pacific Northwest
Washington Rush (Everett, WA)
Pacific Northwest
Washington East Surf SC (Spokane, WA)
Southeast
AFC Lightning (Fayetteville, GA)
Southeast
Florida United (Miramar, FL)
Southeast
IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)
Southeast
PBG Predators (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
Southeast
South Carolina Surf (Mt. Pleasant, SC)
Southeast
Southern Soccer Academy (Marietta, GA)
Southeast
Tophat Gold (Marietta, GA)
Southeast
Tophat Navy (Marietta, GA)
Southeast
United Soccer Alliance (Fleming Island, FL)
Southeast
Wake FC (Holly Springs, NC)
Southeast
West Florida Flames (Apollo Beach, FL)
Southwest
Albion SC San Diego (San Diego, CA)
Southwest
City SC (Carlsbad, CA)
Southwest
FC Tucson (Tucson, AZ)
Southwest
FRAM Soccer Club (Torrance, CA)
Southwest
LA Surf SC (Pasadena, CA)
Southwest
Murrieta Soccer Academy (Temecula, CA)
Southwest
SC del Sol (Phoenix, AZ)
Southwest
SDSC Surf (San Diego, CA)
Southwest
West Coast FC (Irvine, CA)
College athletics
For the 2022-23 season, nearly 600 Girls Academy committed to play college soccer. 62.8% committed to Division I, 19.6% Division II, 13.4% Division III, and 2.6% NAIA.[19] This was an increase over the 2021-22 season, which had 551 commitments.[20]
Sponsorship
The following organizations are a partial list of officials sponsors of Girls Academy:
On March 2, 2023, Ricketts signed a three-year deal (with an option for a fourth year) with the team at the age of 15 years and 283 days. The contract made her the youngest ever NWSL signee at the time, breaking the record set by Olivia Moultrie in 2021 (15 years and 286 days).[21]
