The Academy Experience at Marin FC

All players remain with their primary Marin FC team and the academy is a supplemental opportunity.

Trainings

The academy will run special pool trainings twice a month under the guidance of head and assisstant coaches. The pool will contain approximately 40-46 players made up of any U15-U19 player at the club who has been recommended by their coach. Trainings will be run on a full field for 2 hours. The structure of the USL Academy and USL senior team trainings will be similar as part of Marin FC's 'vertical integration strategy'. The 'vertical integration strategy' will ensure our club's culture and philosophy is withheld across our whole club, making it easier for players to make the jump from their regular teams to the academy team and from the academy team to the senior team. Marin FC's teams try to play with an attacking possesion style focusing on building out of the back, dynamic movement on the field, breaking defensive lines with penetrating passes and on the dribble, and individual creativity and risk taking. The trainings will be designed to improve players' abilities in these areas by working on different exercises including rondo, possession games with touch limits (which forces players to think and play faster), building out of the back against different styles of defensive pressing, and full 11 v 11 scrimmages. Players will improve their reading of the game, technical skills, ability to play at a higher speed and with more intensity, and will continue to learn advanced tactical concepts. Trainings will also include strength, fitness, and injury prevention work to improve each players' physical capabilities. Additionally, players will have the opportunity to analyze some of their sessions on video when they are recorded. This will help them recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their play and training habits as well as give them the chance to revisit the tactical ideas covered during the session. The senior coaching staff will attend numerous training sessions, which allows players in the pool to showcase their skills in front of them and receive their coaching.

Games

Marin FC will work with counterpart USL clubs to schedule matches. The USL Academy Active Period for the boys will run from June through November and there will be 8-12 games in that time. The Active Period for the girls will be June through August and there will be 4-6 games in that time. A squad of 18 players will be chosen from the pool to play in each game. The games will provide high level competition as well as exposure to recruiting for the players. The games will also often be in conjunction with USL2 and USLW games to increase chances for 'senior team integration'. The academy players will be supported by the senior team during their game and learn what it takes to play at the next level by watching the senior team after.