academy

The Academy and Select teams are known as "The Three Wolves", which stands for the three parts of a young player's development both on and off the field. Each Wolf signifies the three aspects that are required to develop a great young soccer player, but more importantly, a great teammate and young person. The Decatur DeKalb YMCA Soccer Club seeks to bring together "The Parent, the Player, and the Coach" in order to make the child's soccer experience the best one possible.

The goal of our developmental program is to provide training in an environment that is fun, challenging, and tailored to the player’s individual abilities. This includes high quality, age-appropriate training; nurtures the social, moral, and emotional development of all players; prepares the players to play at the next level. In this program, player development takes precedence over winning. In adopting The DDY Academy, the club looks to train and develop as many U10, U11, and U12 players as possible. This will lead to a large base of young soccer players who have been exposed to quality, professional training for two years.

The DDY Academy Program will seek to prepare our players to compete in the game of soccer. We will do this in a supportive environment that nurtures the children’s natural competitiveness, but focuses on the strides made as an individual and as a team player. The coaching staff will make decisions that are in the interest of players, not wins or losses. Training will focus on all aspects of the game: mentally and physically.

Games will be seen merely as a part of the training process. They will give players a chance to test their skills. Games will give coaches an opportunity to teach tactics and learn what skills need to be focused upon in the next training sessions. The games will be a fun chance for kids to demonstrate what they’ve learned in front of their families.