Puget Sound Premier League expands to include U-15, U-16 and U-17 leagues

PSPL Web site | US Club Soccer Web site

SEATTLE (April 29, 2010) – The Puget Sound Premier League (PSPL) is pleased to announce that U-15, U-16 and U-17 leagues will be added beginning in the fall of 2010.

The PSPL, Washington’s only league for competitive clubs sanctioned by US Club Soccer, has previously offered leagues in the U-11 through U-14 age groups to complement U-8 through U-10 developmental leagues. The PSPL’s expansion is the result of continued rapid growth – 30 percent annually.

The number of participating teams in the PSPL is expected to double to more than 300 in the fall of 2010, a significant increase from approximately 140 teams in last year’s fall season. For the first time, the PSPL will also include teams from Eastern Washington and Idaho.

“We are excited about the growth of the PSPL and the quality of the competitive clubs that are joining the league,” said Gabe Rood, US Club Soccer’s West Membership Services Representative. “We see a bright future in Washington.”

The most competitive Eastern and Western Washington clubs will play in the PSPL’s statewide division. At the same time, less competitive select teams that want to play only in Eastern Washington will participate in the PSPL’s Eastern Washington Copa Division, which will also kick off in the fall of 2010.

The PSPL’s expansion follows a trend sweeping up the West Coast of competitive clubs joining US Club Soccer-sanctioned leagues. The majority of Oregon’s top competitive soccer clubs announced this week that they are moving all their teams to the US Club Soccer-sanctioned Oregon Premier League in the fall of 2010, when the league will expand.

The northward development stemmed from the NorCal Premier League, as the majority of Northern California’s competitive clubs joined the league five years ago. The NorCal Premier League is currently the largest US Club Soccer-sanctioned league in the country.

“We are very pleased about the recent steps the US Club Soccer-sanctioned organizations of the Pacific Northwest have taken,’’ said Benjamin Ziemer, President of the NorCal Premier League. “We look forward to continued cooperation between all of the premier organizations on the West Coast to further develop our competitive structures, our player development programs and our coaching education programs.

“We are especially excited about the possibility for future competition between the clubs of the Puget Sound Premier League, the Oregon Premier League and the NorCal Premier League,” Ziemer said.

US Club Soccer’s growth over the past several years has been largely due to the organization’s belief that soccer clubs are the primary vehicle through which players are developed – a youth development model that has been used in the world’s greatest soccer countries. US Club Soccer’s flexible and entrepreneurial governance model allows clubs the freedom to create new and innovative leagues and competitive opportunities that matches ability levels and opens leagues to diverse competition.

For these reasons, competitive soccer clubs are realizing that other opportunities exist to improve and redefine the traditional youth soccer model – a model much in need of a major overhaul. Simple administration, self-governance, significant cost savings and open competition represent the drivers that are steering many competitive clubs to the NorCal Premier League, the OPL and the PSPL.

The opportunity to redefine youth soccer in Washington state is one of the reasons why Emerald City FC and its coaching director Bobby Howe are joining the PSPL.

“We believe US Club Soccer and the PSPL are the future, and we are pleased the league is expanding to include older-age groups,” Howe said. “We encourage more Washington clubs to consider the exciting opportunities that US Club Soccer can offer. We believe the PSPL will be a league of top-drawer competition.”

Jimmy Ball, director for the Advanced Development Program for Issaquah Soccer Club/Arsenal and PSPL technical director, shares a similar view:

“We need to expand the base of competitive soccer players – not shrink it. We need to create more opportunity for competitive play – not reduce it,” said Ball, a former professional player for Southampton FC and the former head of the Portsmouth FC Youth Academy. “The PSPL is giving more clubs and more players the opportunity to play year-round soccer and thus become quality soccer players. This helps to improve the standard of play for every level in the state. We need more top-flight soccer players – not fewer.

“We need to develop a system here that truly focuses on what’s best for the players because that’s what this is really about,” Ball said. “In all my experience coaching and training in America, US Club Soccer and the PSPL come closer to doing what’s best for development and what’s best for the players than other youth organizations. That’s why I’m committed to being here.”

As the growth continues and the player development model changes, the PSPL has the flexibility to offer leagues and competitions that make sense and can change with the demands. The announcement of the U-15 through U-17 leagues is the latest example of this flexibility to fill a surging demand.

For boys, the U-15 through U-17 leagues will be held in the fall, kicking off the week after Labor Day. For girls, the U-15 through U-17 leagues will begin in January and stretch into the spring. Specific dates and other details about the league structure will be made available shortly.

In addition to the clubs listed below, many other additional clubs and teams have joined the league. The number of participating teams in the PSPL is expected to double to more than 300 in the fall of 2010, a significant increase from approximately 140 teams in last year’s fall season.

PSPL core clubs that have committed most or all of their teams as of April 28:

Other PSPL programs include:

·         U-11 through U-14 leagues (Fall and Spring)

·         U-8 through U-10 Development League (Fall and Spring)

·         Washington Cup (Spring)

·         PSPL Team Showcase Program (Summer)

·         Northwest Champions League (Winter 2011)

·         Arsenal Showcase Tournament for U-16 through U-18 boys (Summer)

For more information about US Club Soccer, please contact:

·         Membership Services Representative Gabe Rood at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text13039 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or (707) 571-1425.

·         President Stanley Holmes at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text92350 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or (206) 200-2245.