Academy FAQ

No, players from outside of Bethpage are encouraged and invited to tryout as well. The idea is to create a highly-competitive environment of players who are soccer-focused, regardless of of where they live. 

No, our Academy program will be entered into the EDP/NYCS league. Players who join will have a player card specific to this league, which does not conflict with LIJSL. You can continue to play with your town team, as long as you prioritize the Academy team. 

As a program, we understand that children play other sports; in fact, we encourage it! While it's impossible to accommodate everyone's schedule all the time, our intention will be to do the best we can to offer flexibility on the schedule that works for the majority of the team. 

Your registration fee includes everything included in the program, with the exception of uniforms (those need to be purchased separately).  This includes trainer and referee fees, summer camp and winter training fees, fees to cover one Academy level tournament per season (decided on by our Program Director), insurance, league registration, NYCFC tickets, and more. 

A payment plan will be available; if anyone pays in full they will receive a discount on tuition. 

Much of this depends on how many teams we are able to assemble. Our expectation is to keep the pricing around $2,500 per year, but the more players who join the program, the more we can work down the pricing. As a non-profit organization, the idea is to make this program as cost-effective as possible without jeopardizing quality. 

Our initial program will be run by JST, a soccer training program created by Alec Jacobs.  Coach Jacobs is a licensed trainer that has worked with the likes of East Meadow Soccer Club, NYCFC, and other programs. Coach Jacobs and his trainer will run the tryouts, select the teams, determine the players positions and playing time, and decide what tournaments and league divisions each team will enter. Each team's trainer will select a parent admin to assist with coordinating and communicating with the team, but that would be the extent of parental involvement. The Program will be overseen in all aspects by the Bethpage Soccer Board. 

This is a completely separate program than travel, and therefore will have a completely separate uniform. Players who make the team will be required to purchase the full kit, which includes a home and away kit, a practice kit, a warmup jacket, and a ball bag. Players who are on a team specifically as keepers will be able to purchase keeper kits in lieu of the uniforms field players will wear.  We expect the cost to be around $350-$400 per player. League rules require the Academy's redesign their kits every two years, so in 2027 the program will have newly-designed kits that will need to be purchased.  

This program will be open to players U9 and older. Our intention is to have both a Boys and a Girls program. We understand that this program is in its infancy and will take time to develop, but we are heavily-focused on building this with our younger players.

Recently, they've announced an official update which will set the new Age Group Formation cycle to run from September 1 –  August 31. This was selected to align as closely as possible with the start of a new school year for the majority of athletes around the country. While the Age Group Formation cycle will align closely with the school year, athletes will still be able to play up with older age groups, if desired.

As an Academy, we will depend on our Program Director and his trainers to determine the best course of action for each group. If the trainers feel we are able to create a team by Grade and have them play up in an age level where they can be competitive, we will certainly consider that option. There may also be cases where our trainers do not feel it will be in the best interest to have players play up, in which case we will adhere to the US Soccer guidelines. 

For practices, we plan to use either of our two brand new turf fields at Bethpage High School and JFK Middle School. We also have the option to use Apollo Field, Borella Field, or any of our Bethpage Elementary Schools.  11v11 games will be played on one of our turf fields, while 9v9, 7v7, and 5v5 games will be played at Apollo Field or Borella Field.