Youth soccer clubs in New York
Youth soccer in New York is really two different worlds sharing one state line.
Club soccer in New York
Downstate, the five boroughs, Long Island and Westchester pack an enormous number of players into very little grass, and clubs there compete hard for field time, coaches and families. Upstate, from Albany out to Buffalo, the clubs are spread thinner, the drives are longer, and a single organization often serves a whole region. The US Youth Soccer side of the state is split too. Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association covers the east, and New York State West Youth Soccer Association handles the western half.
The top of the pyramid is easy to describe. MLS NEXT is the boys' academy platform, and Girls Academy runs alongside it for girls at several clubs. New York City FC runs its own academy, and independent clubs such as Long Island Soccer Club, New York Soccer Club, Downtown United and Metropolitan Oval have earned MLS NEXT places on their own. ECNL has a footprint here as well, with the WNY Flash in the west and ECNL Regional League teams in the Capital Region.
City soccer has its own rhythm. Manhattan clubs often train on turf at Randall's Island or along the Hudson, and parents learn to read a subway map the way other families read a schedule. Long Island has a bigger suburban feel, with plenty of town programs feeding into the elite clubs around Nassau and Suffolk counties. Westchester clubs draw from the whole Hudson Valley.
Older clubs matter here too. Metropolitan Oval in Queens traces its field back to 1925, and Blau Weiss Gottschee in Middle Village has run youth teams since 1951. Neither is a newcomer chasing a trend, and both have kept boys and girls teams going for generations. Whatever your child's level, you'll find a club within reach of most population centers, though the very top teams can ask for a real commute.
Popular clubs in New York
These are the clubs New York families ask about most. League badges show what we could confirm for the 2025-26 season, so check each club's own site for current teams, tryout dates and fees.
New York City FC Academy
The youth side of the MLS club, which started its academy in 2015 with a combined under 13 and 14 group. Teams from U12 through U17 are listed on the club site, with U12 playing in NYCSL and EDP competition and U13 and older in MLS NEXT. The academy aims to find players across the New York metro area and push them toward the first team through MLS NEXT Pro. It also holds open talent ID events.
Long Island Soccer Club
A Nassau County club based out of Uniondale that earned its MLS NEXT spot in the 2024 expansion class and also fields Girls Academy teams. It was founded in 2017 and aims at serious players from across Long Island, with training sites spread around the island. The club also runs a futsal program and camps. If your child is already in a town travel league and wants a step up, this is one of the first names on the island.
FC Westchester
The Westchester and Hudson Valley arm of an MLS NEXT founding member, and its website describes the club that way. It runs ID sessions for U17 to U19 players, boys ball mastery clinics for ages 4 to 12, and a goalkeeper academy. Girls get supplemental training from U8 to U12. Tryout information is posted on the club site. For families north of the city, it offers a real academy route without crossing into Manhattan every week.
New York Soccer Club
Founded in 2009 and based on Purchase Street in Westchester County. Its boys teams play in MLS NEXT and its girls teams in the Girls Academy, so players can stay with one club from the first tryout to the top level. The club posts separate tryout pages for its Girls Academy and Aspire teams. It's a good fit for families in southern Connecticut and the northern suburbs who can handle a commute to Purchase.
Metropolitan Oval
Built around a Queens field that dates to 1925, Metropolitan Oval calls its youth setup a Center of Excellence. Boys play in MLS NEXT, and the club says it was a founding member of the league. The club's girls program is branded BCFC Girls. Players come from Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Long Island, and the club also runs summer camps and younger development teams called Met Oval Juniors. Its boys program is described as NYCFC's affiliate partner.
Blau Weiss Gottschee
A nonprofit club in Queens that has been around since 1951. Its Academy teams, U12 to U19, play in MLS NEXT, and there's a pre-academy track plus a girls program and futsal. Younger kids from ages 4 to 9 can join the intramural program, which is the easiest way in for beginners. Developmental boys teams run from U8 to U11. The club was also one of the original members of the Red Bulls academy affiliate network.
WNY Flash Academy
The main western New York option for players who want ECNL. The club fields girls and boys ECNL teams and added ECNL Regional League girls teams in Rochester and Binghamton in 2025. It trains in Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, Erie and Syracuse, and it absorbed the Rochester Lancers in a 2023 merger. Because the territory is so wide, a lot of families plan their week around the nearest regional hub.
Manhattan Soccer Club
The best known club in Manhattan, with clinics in Riverside Park and girls training on Randall's Island. Programs start with MSC Futures for ages 5 to 7 and run through a youth academy for U8 to U12, a junior academy for U13 and U14, and a high school group for U15 to U19. The club has separate boys and girls tracks, a college placement service and a Westchester branch. It's a city club in the truest sense, built around public parks.
Downtown United Soccer Club
A nonprofit based in lower Manhattan that serves roughly 5,000 participants a year. It earned an invitation to MLS NEXT for boys and Girls Academy for girls starting in 2024. Classes begin at age 3, and the club runs a recreation league, camps, a D-League for U9 to U12 by invitation, and an academy for U7 through U19. It also lists a women's professional pathway and men's teams for U20 to U23.
Black Watch Premier
The Capital Region's best known competitive organization, founded in late 1996 by Steve Freeman. Its BWP Football Academy plays ECNL Regional League and hosts visiting teams from New England at Christian Brothers Academy in Albany. The club was added to MLS's youth platform in 2020 for under 13 and 14 teams, left it a year later, and tried a USL academy team in 2022. A pre-ECNL program for U11 and U12 boys starts next season.
Long Island Rough Riders
A Long Island organization whose men's team plays in USL League Two. Its youth side runs under the USL Youth banner for players in Nassau and Suffolk counties, which is a different pathway from MLS NEXT or ECNL. Public sources disagree on whether its home is Garden City or Mitchel Field in Uniondale, so check the club site for current training locations. It has described itself as building one of the largest USL youth programs in the country.
From New York clubs to college soccer
For a lot of New York families, club soccer is also the road to playing in college. These pages cover the next step, from ID camps close to home to emailing college coaches.
College ID camps in New York
Every college soccer program in New York, with a link to its official camp page.
See the camps ›Recruiting guideHow college recruiting works
Timelines, divisions, scholarships, coach emails and showcases, explained for players and parents.
Read the guide ›RecruitlyEmail college coaches from your own inbox
Find programs by division and conference, reach every coach, and see who opens your email and watches your film.
Meet Recruitly ›Choosing a club in New York
Start with the map, then the league. In the New York City area, a club that looks ideal on paper can mean 90 minutes on the road for a weeknight practice, so check training sites before you fall for a logo. Long Island and Westchester families often accept a 45 minute drive for the top teams, while upstate families may drive an hour or more to Albany, Rochester or Buffalo. Ask which age groups actually field MLS NEXT, Girls Academy or ECNL teams, because many clubs run the top league at only some birth years.
Winters are cold and wet, so find out where the club trains indoors from December through March, and whether the cost of turf rental is built into fees. Tryouts for the next season usually land in late spring, but some clubs hold early evaluations, so email the registrar in March. Finally, ask about the pre-academy teams below U13. That's where most clubs identify the players they'll invest in.
Before you sign anything, read up on what club soccer costs and how tryouts and offers usually work. Most New York families find the second season easier than the first.
New York club soccer FAQ
Which New York clubs play in MLS NEXT?
For 2025-26, the MLS NEXT lists include New York City FC, Long Island Soccer Club, New York Soccer Club, FC Westchester, Metropolitan Oval, Blau Weiss Gottschee and Downtown United. Several also run Girls Academy teams for girls, which sits next to MLS NEXT on the girls side.
Is there an ECNL club in western New York?
Yes. The WNY Flash Academy runs ECNL for girls and boys and trains in Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, Erie and Syracuse. In spring 2025 it also added ECNL Regional League girls teams in Rochester and Binghamton, which gives players a step below the top tier.
Who runs US Youth Soccer in New York?
Two associations split the state. Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association covers the eastern counties including the Capital Region, and New York State West Youth Soccer Association serves western New York with its office in Webster. Each runs its own State Cup.