8U - 10U
Echo Academy

The Academy is more or less Indiana Soccer's 10 and under (U8 - U10) division.

As a parent, you are in the best position to determine whether your child is ready for more advanced training, stronger competition, and a travel experience.  When your child reaches age 8, he or she is eligible to attend a travel tryout and receive an evaluation.  There are typically multiple levels of play for each age group to ensure that your child is placed on the appropriate team for his or her current skill level.

The academy playing format for U9 and U10 teams is 7v7 including a goalie.  The playing format for U8 is 4v4 with no goalie.  U8 players will only be allowed to play on academy teams in limited instances.  These requirements are mandated by our governing body Indiana Soccer and not controlled by Echo.

Indiana Soccer League (ISL) creates regional leagues for U9 and U10 academy teams that consist of four different levels.  Level 1 is for more advanced teams and Level 4 is for less advanced teams.  The academy leagues include both U9 and U10 teams and players within a single division.  The U8 league is more local in nature and includes only U8 teams playing the 4v4 format.

Echo forms academy teams based on evaluations at tryouts.  We group U9 and U10 players by ability and not necessarily by age.  So your team may not be a true U9 team, for example, but may include a combination of U9 and U10 players of similar abilities and skill levels.  Grouping players of like skill levels together provides the best environment for player development.

After teams are formed, our Academy Director requests for Indiana Soccer to place those teams at the appropriate level within the levels structure of the ISL academy division.  The recommendation is made with a goal of placing teams in a competitively appropriate environment.  The ISL has the final say on which level a team is placed in.

We try our best to avoid putting teams in situations where they will have lopsided games.  Sometimes, despite our best efforts, it happens.  We have limited control over scheduling, and at times due to improper league placements or a limited number of teams in the region at a similar level, teams are poorly matched.  If this happens to your team, try to discuss with them some positive aspects of their performance.  And feel free to reach out to our Academy Director to share any concerns.

All of our coaches are required to meet the licensing requirements set forth by Indiana Soccer.  While all teams receive professional Coerver instruction weekly, some teams do have volunteer coaches.  Generally these coaches have prior playing or coaching experience (or both).  Echo supports these coaches by providing training, licensing, and guidance from our coaching directors and technical staff.  We find that volunteer coaches are particularly invested in their teams and that using volunteer coaches is a great way to bring more people into the coaching ranks.

Coerver Coaching is the world's number 1 soccer skills training method.  Our exclusive partnership with Coerver Coaching means that your child receives the same professional training that is utilized by some of the best clubs and organizations in the world.  And its focus on skills such as ball mastery means that our players develop the skill, confidence, and creativity to optimize their development as soccer players and people.  For more about Coerver, visit our Player Development page.