The Academy session will stretch from the beginning of November through the first week of March, with a break over the holidays.  In total, this stretch is approximately 18 weeks, during which your child(ren) would participate in 12-16 sessions, depending on the grouping.

I live in closer proximity to the Connellsville location than the Greentree location.  Where should my child(ren) plan to attend Academy sessions this winter?

Ultimately, this is up to your family.  After all, you are the customer and the Riverhounds are serving your needs.  The Riverhounds certainly understand and appreciate the time and energy put forth in commuting to and from Academy sessions.  This new Academy location is an attempt to help ease the transportation burden for many families, while also serving soccer communities which have not, to this point, been able to enjoy consistent, elite skills training.  However, it should be noted that proper, technical development is best accomplished in a setting with players of similar abilities.  This enables the coaching staff to apply appropriate pressure, working to elevate the level of the entire group through attention to individuals of a similar soccer aptitude.  The Greentree location has been operating successfully for nearly seven years, thereby gathering a large player pool which has been broken down according to technical development.  If your child is currently in a very competitive grouping within The Academy in Greentree, not reserved for just the RDA level, it is highly encouraged that you maintain your involvement in that particular group.  We do believe The Academy at Connellsville will quickly establish a strong player pool, based upon strong incoming demand.  Over time, this will create a tremendous working environment for elite players at both locations, concurrently.

Yes, any player within The Academy system is available for invitation into any and all Riverhounds-related activities, such as RDA events.  The RDA program is the top level of our Academy, from age 9/10 and up.  Based upon the age level, RDA teams may compete in anywhere from 2 to 10 events per year, including friendlies against top regional opponents, tournaments, showcase events, and leagues.  There will always be direct communication with Connellsville Academy Director, Sterling Flunder, and both Scott Gibson (Academy Director) and Jason Kutney (Director of Youth Development) will be involved with sessions at Connellsville as part of player assessments.

When players are grouped according to their skill level, do they remain in that group for a full year?

No, this would be unfair to the player, to the group, and to the game.  Being a professional means treating every training session like a tryout.  Week in and week out, professional players arrive at training, knowing they are competing for their jobs.  As such, they are fully focused on enhancing their playing standard.  Just the same, players in our Academy system must perform at high levels in order to remain within their group.  If the coaches feel the player is experiencing a 'drop in form', there will be discussions with that player, and parent(s), notifying them that it may become necessary to move the player to a lower tier within The Academy.  This may take place if a player is simply struggling with certain exercises for an extended period of time and that struggle is compounding, leading to a greater net effect on their game.  In other cases, if a player is initially placed in lower tier but shows they are accelerating faster than others within that tier, the coaches may find it appropriate and necessary to move that player up to a higher grouping.  Again, this would come through communication with the parents, as it would involve a different weekly schedule.  It is most important to realize that youth development is a marathon and not a sprint.  Having an Under 11/12 player reassigned to a lower tier because they are struggling through exercises in training does not mean that player has lost their college scholarship!  Instead, it means we must slow things down a little bit in the short-term so that the child will be flying when it comes to the long-term.  Being able to process that decision and manage that pressure is part of development - in many cases for the player and parent(s).