Invite-only competitive youth soccer teams in Pasadena — seven teams, one per age group, U7 through U13. Earned in Foundation training, built for families who want real games and long-term development. Not one or the other.
Academy Teams play a regional league season: real games, real opponents, most within 30 minutes of Pasadena. The philosophy doesn’t change on Saturdays — we coach the player, not the position. Every kid is on their own development arc, and the team result matters less than what the player learned this week.
A selective tier within the academy your player already trains in.
An invitation, extended after a coach observes consistent work.
One team per age group. 12–14 players. No A/B rosters.
A real league schedule with regional opponents across the San Gabriel Valley.
A full-season commitment — players, families, and coaches all in.
Tracked development — an Individual Development Plan for every player.
A promotion. Plenty of FTBL players never join Academy Teams — and that’s fine.
Pay-to-play. No tryout fee, no initiation fee. A spot can’t be bought.
A travel team. Most games are within 30 minutes of Pasadena.
A replacement for AYSO. Players can do both as long as the schedule allows.
A guarantee of playing time, position, or college recruitment.
For everyone. It’s for the families ready for it.
Same head coach the whole season. Quarterly TIPS evaluations on every player. Every coach knows every player by name, weak foot, and what they’re working on this month.
Every player carries an Individual Development Plan — quarterly reports on Technique, Insight, Personality, and Speed. Not stars or grades. Year over year, you see the curve.
Two team trainings a week, games on weekends. We expect players at every session unless something real comes up. Show up, work, contribute — that’s the deal.
No sideline coaching, no scoreboard worship. Read the reports, trust the process — and back what we’re building, week to week.
Academy Teams is a season commitment, billed monthly. No tryout fee, no initiation fee, no surprise team fees mid-season.
We don’t evaluate a player on one nervous afternoon. We watch them train for weeks — how they learn, how they compete, how they treat their teammates — and invite when they’re ready.
Academy Teams are drawn from Foundation One and Two. There’s no separate door — the training is the tryout.
We look for the Academy Standard: technical ability, coachability, and game insight — observed over weeks, not one audition.
When a player is ready, we invite the family to evaluate with the team. No tryout fee, ever.
A player is never finished.
Building the base — first touches, coordination, confidence. Ages 5–10.
The same skills, now faster and under pressure. Advanced group training. Ages 8–14.
Invite-only league play for players who’ve built the foundation to compete and keep developing.
If your player is new to FTBL, book a Foundation session — that’s the door. If they already train with us, ask their coach where they stand.
Academy Teams are drawn from players training in Foundation One and Foundation Two. Coaches watch for the Academy Standard — technical ability, coachability, and game insight — over weeks of training, not one audition. When a player is ready, we invite the family to evaluate with the team. There’s no tryout fee.
There’s no open tryout. The door is Foundation training, where coaches see a player over weeks — how they train, learn, and compete — instead of one nervous afternoon. If you’re new to FTBL, book a Foundation session; if your player already trains with us, ask their coach where they stand.
Everything: twice-weekly team training, league play with referee, field, and league fees included, the FTBL game kit and training kit, an Individual Development Plan with quarterly TIPS reports, and Skills-at-Home resources. No tryout fee, no initiation fee. Academy Teams is a season commitment billed monthly.
Yes, as long as the schedule allows. Academy Teams isn’t a replacement for AYSO — many players do both. We’re honest with families when the combined load stops serving the player.
Training is at The Lab in East Pasadena. League games are local and regional — most within 30 minutes of Pasadena. This is not a travel team.
Yes. Our staff is bilingual, and we work with families in both Spanish and English.
