D
Diane Scavuzzo
Guest
A National Youth Soccer Championship Outside of US Youth Soccer & US Club
Greg Smith has a vision that youth soccer can be better, with a higher degree of focus on what is best for the youth player and with less emphasis on and distraction from the decaying fiefdoms prevalent in certain segments of the landscape.
Smith believes, from experience, that these fiefdoms have lasted well past their prime.
After working at US Youth Soccer as the East Region General Manager and responsible for Special Projects, Smith who holds a Ph.D. wanted to do something impactful and turned his efforts to creating a new youth soccer tournament — and one that was outside of the establishment’s purview. This week, Smith has announced the Elite One Cup, which he says is a “momentous step forward in the evolution of youth soccer in America.”
The Elite One Cup is providing the exciting opportunity for teams to compete in one national championship, regardless of their affiliations or memberships.
Smith calls Elite One is a social change company with the goal of embracing a unified soccer community working together for the benefit of all. The idea is to grow and improve participation.
According to Elite One Cup’s site, “a social change company works to improve human interactions and relationships while transforming institutions.”
Elite One provides innovative, high-quality events that are open to all players, regardless if they are part of US Youth Soccer or US Club Soccer or any other organization. In fact, the Elite One Cup is even outside of U.S. Soccer’s purview.
What were the reasons for this novel approach? We asked Greg Smith
Greg Smith
SoccerToday Interview With Greg Smith
Diane Scavuzzo: Why not run the Elite One Cup with/through the U.S. Soccer Federation? There are a few reasons.
Greg Smith: There are a few reasons.
Elite One is not a membership organization. As a social change company, we provide high-quality events, programs, and services that are open to all youth soccer players, regardless of their affiliations. Teams are not charged a membership fee to participate in the Elite One Cup. And, yes, all participants are provided with insurance which is normally provided through an association.
The mission of the Elite One Cup is to embrace a unified soccer community that works together for the benefit of all to best grow and improve participation.
One way to work towards achieving this mission is to treat all soccer participants as equals and to provide competition opportunities that are open to all and that are not based on carding, registration, or membership status.
Other reasons include U.S. Soccer Federation’s policies prohibit its members from offering a truly open competition (Policy 212-1, Section 4a). As such, the Elite One Cup is only possible because of its independence.
Diane Scavuzzo: How does this tournament fit into the new normal of youth soccer?
Greg Smith: Our tournament structure not only minimizes travel and nights away from home but also reduces the total number of games that need to be played to be crowned youth soccer’s one true national champion. This also results in fewer conflicts with their league and tournament schedules.
Accepted teams will participate in an Elite One Cup city qualifier over a three-day weekend where they will play one game each day.
National Championship held in Overland Park, Kansas City
Diane Scavuzzo: What is the feel of the event?
Greg Smith: The Elite One Cup will be professional, national, and welcoming — these are words that I would use to describe the feel.
National team and professional scouts will be invited to attend in addition to college coaches.
Lastly, the personal level of care and treatment of all participants will be unlike anything that can be found in the landscape today. Decisions will be made based on what is best for the players. Participants will be treated as customers.
Diane Scavuzzo: What are the tournament details?
Greg Smith: The 2020-21 Elite One Cup will begin by welcoming applications from all rising U13 to U19 teams in June 2020, with applications accepted through December 15, 2020.
Accepted teams play at least three games, and up to eight games depending on how far they advance in the competition.
With only one tournament fee, with no additional charges for rostering, carding, membership, the Elite One Cup offers a great value.
The Elite One Cup city qualifiers will be held in the fall and spring at premier facilities across the country. Each city qualifier will be held over a three-day weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), and teams will play one game each day for a total of three games in a round-robin format. The top finishing team from each age, gender, and division will advance to the National Championship.
Elite One Cup — Additional Details
Follow Elite One Cup on Social: Twitter Instagram Facebook
For the 2020-21 Elite One Cup, the top 64 teams in each age/gender flight will be accepted and placed into division one (DI) or division two (DII). Within each division, teams will be placed in the city qualifiers to ensure a balanced competition where teams have the best opportunity to advance based on performance. While separate competitions, DI and DII will play at the same city qualifier venues on the same dates.
For best consideration, however, teams are encouraged to apply by July 31, 2020. Applications will be reviewed by the Elite One Cup Selection Committee. Selected teams will be notified of their acceptance by August 15, 2020 (fall qualifiers), or January 1, 2021 (spring qualifiers).
The Elite One Cup culminates with the National Championship, a six-day event in July 2021 where the top eight teams in each age, gender, and division will be split into two groups. After a day of rest, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, followed by the National Championship.
Katia Sarokon is the National Administrator for Elite One.
For more information, please visit 2020-21 Elite One Cup Competition Rules
The post A NEW YOUTH SOCCER TOURNAMENT LAUNCHES: ELITE ONE CUP appeared first on SoccerToday.
Continue reading...
SoccerToday News from Diane Scavuzzo
Greg Smith has a vision that youth soccer can be better, with a higher degree of focus on what is best for the youth player and with less emphasis on and distraction from the decaying fiefdoms prevalent in certain segments of the landscape.
Smith believes, from experience, that these fiefdoms have lasted well past their prime.
After working at US Youth Soccer as the East Region General Manager and responsible for Special Projects, Smith who holds a Ph.D. wanted to do something impactful and turned his efforts to creating a new youth soccer tournament — and one that was outside of the establishment’s purview. This week, Smith has announced the Elite One Cup, which he says is a “momentous step forward in the evolution of youth soccer in America.”
The Elite One Cup is providing the exciting opportunity for teams to compete in one national championship, regardless of their affiliations or memberships.
Smith calls Elite One is a social change company with the goal of embracing a unified soccer community working together for the benefit of all. The idea is to grow and improve participation.
According to Elite One Cup’s site, “a social change company works to improve human interactions and relationships while transforming institutions.”
Elite One provides innovative, high-quality events that are open to all players, regardless if they are part of US Youth Soccer or US Club Soccer or any other organization. In fact, the Elite One Cup is even outside of U.S. Soccer’s purview.
What were the reasons for this novel approach? We asked Greg Smith
Greg Smith
SoccerToday Interview With Greg Smith
Diane Scavuzzo: Why not run the Elite One Cup with/through the U.S. Soccer Federation? There are a few reasons.
Greg Smith: There are a few reasons.
Elite One is not a membership organization. As a social change company, we provide high-quality events, programs, and services that are open to all youth soccer players, regardless of their affiliations. Teams are not charged a membership fee to participate in the Elite One Cup. And, yes, all participants are provided with insurance which is normally provided through an association.
The mission of the Elite One Cup is to embrace a unified soccer community that works together for the benefit of all to best grow and improve participation.
One way to work towards achieving this mission is to treat all soccer participants as equals and to provide competition opportunities that are open to all and that are not based on carding, registration, or membership status.
Other reasons include U.S. Soccer Federation’s policies prohibit its members from offering a truly open competition (Policy 212-1, Section 4a). As such, the Elite One Cup is only possible because of its independence.
Diane Scavuzzo: How does this tournament fit into the new normal of youth soccer?
Greg Smith: Our tournament structure not only minimizes travel and nights away from home but also reduces the total number of games that need to be played to be crowned youth soccer’s one true national champion. This also results in fewer conflicts with their league and tournament schedules.
Accepted teams will participate in an Elite One Cup city qualifier over a three-day weekend where they will play one game each day.
National Championship held in Overland Park, Kansas City
Diane Scavuzzo: What is the feel of the event?
Greg Smith: The Elite One Cup will be professional, national, and welcoming — these are words that I would use to describe the feel.
National team and professional scouts will be invited to attend in addition to college coaches.
Lastly, the personal level of care and treatment of all participants will be unlike anything that can be found in the landscape today. Decisions will be made based on what is best for the players. Participants will be treated as customers.
Diane Scavuzzo: What are the tournament details?
Greg Smith: The 2020-21 Elite One Cup will begin by welcoming applications from all rising U13 to U19 teams in June 2020, with applications accepted through December 15, 2020.
Accepted teams play at least three games, and up to eight games depending on how far they advance in the competition.
With only one tournament fee, with no additional charges for rostering, carding, membership, the Elite One Cup offers a great value.
The Elite One Cup city qualifiers will be held in the fall and spring at premier facilities across the country. Each city qualifier will be held over a three-day weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), and teams will play one game each day for a total of three games in a round-robin format. The top finishing team from each age, gender, and division will advance to the National Championship.
Elite One Cup — Additional Details
Follow Elite One Cup on Social: Twitter Instagram Facebook
For the 2020-21 Elite One Cup, the top 64 teams in each age/gender flight will be accepted and placed into division one (DI) or division two (DII). Within each division, teams will be placed in the city qualifiers to ensure a balanced competition where teams have the best opportunity to advance based on performance. While separate competitions, DI and DII will play at the same city qualifier venues on the same dates.
For best consideration, however, teams are encouraged to apply by July 31, 2020. Applications will be reviewed by the Elite One Cup Selection Committee. Selected teams will be notified of their acceptance by August 15, 2020 (fall qualifiers), or January 1, 2021 (spring qualifiers).
The Elite One Cup culminates with the National Championship, a six-day event in July 2021 where the top eight teams in each age, gender, and division will be split into two groups. After a day of rest, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, followed by the National Championship.
Katia Sarokon is the National Administrator for Elite One.
For more information, please visit 2020-21 Elite One Cup Competition Rules
The post A NEW YOUTH SOCCER TOURNAMENT LAUNCHES: ELITE ONE CUP appeared first on SoccerToday.
Continue reading...
SoccerToday News from Diane Scavuzzo