What is the genesis of EDP?  Numerous high clubs in the region have been looking for a quality and competitive environment for the development of their players that gets away from the long distance travel commitments and inconsistencies of other option such as Region 1 leagues, ad hoc USYSA leagues and unending tournament commitments. They also wanted to have quality throughout the participants with quality facilities, structured clubs and primary commitment to the activities that EDP provides. This started with Under 12 and 13 boys a year ago and is now mushrooming into all age groups and genders. This past fall our U 13 and 14 boys teams competed in the EDP league and the feedback regarding quality of competition, commitment of teams and overall involvement has been outstanding. We are looking for these opportunities for all of our teams and club members. Some core expectations and demands from the clubs involved were as follows:

• Quality and consistent league competition
• Controlled travel commitments
• Quality facilities
• Improved college showcasing
• Improved national player identification
• Club centered control with properly structured clubs that include Directors of Coaching and Coaching monitoring and development structure.

 The Founding Core Clubs that have committed to the EDP organization are:

• Beachside SC (Conn)                                   
• Downtown United SC (NY East)
• FC Copa (NJ)
• FSA United FC (Conn)
• Lehigh Valley United SC (Pa East)
• Manhattan SC (NY East)
• New York SC (NY East)
• Penn Fusion SC (PA East)
• South Jersey Elite Barons (NJ)
• Smithtown SC (NY East)
• TSF Academy (NJ)
  

In addition there are several other high level clubs that are going through the evaluation process for acceptance that includes teams from Northern NJ, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The demands to be accepted within EDP are high and will be carefully monitored by the EDP selection committee to insure that the quality and commitment remains at the highest level.

With the advent of the NPL relationships the EDP first division will be a qualifying league for the NPL national championships. A second EDP division will house teams that may not be ready for that level at this point but are core club age group teams or aspiring EDP clubs. All other participants will play in the MAPS or local leagues in NJ.

Competition will be very good and winning championships will be a formidable challenge but players playing in this level of competition week in and week out will not only get better but will be recognized as some of the top talent in the region and country.

To further enhance the opportunities for the talented players EDP has two additional initiatives.

1. Talent Identification Program (TIP)- This is a high level identification and developmental program that requires no financial commitment on the part of the players, it will be fully funded by EDP and /or outside sources. This started this year with the boys 1999 age group and has shown outstanding success. 4 players have already been identified for potential national opportunities and the plans for this program are far reaching and extensive. For more information you can go to the www.edpsoccer.org web site.
2. EDP College ID Camp- A 3 day College ID Camp has been developed that initially was offered to only EDP core club players and already has 190 of the 216 available slots filled. This camp will be run by college coaches along with core club Directors of Coaching and club coaches. The purpose is to provide a high level opportunity for college coaches to see some of the top players in the region participate in 3 days of intense training and games and it is expected that a significant number of players will be identified for college opportunities. In the first year it is projected that upwards of 100 college coaches will attend over the 3 days and in future years that will grow. This is a fantastic opportunity for players to be seen and evaluated and college coach feedback so far has been outstanding. The college coaches feel that there are a lot of players that are not in academies that need to be found and this vehicle will be part of a multi pronged approach for those players to be identified.
   

In summary this is a fantastic opportunity for our club and our players, one that will not be available to many other competing organizations and we are in on the ground floor and are an integral part of the EDP hierarchy with key positions on the board and the opportunity to maximize the use of the Tuckahoe Turf Farm for many of the activities that will be run in this region. This makes it a very cost effective as well as a developmental opportunity for our club and players.

We are very excited to have accomplished this and look forward to a long future of competitive development and exposure for our players.

PLEASE SEE THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM US CLUB SOCCER BELOW~~~

Eastern Development Program’s First Division to become National Premier Leagues Division

NationalPremierLeagues.com | EDP website | usclubsoccer.org

CHARLESTON, S.C. (May 7, 2012) – US Club Soccer has announced that the Eastern Development Program (EDP) has become the newest addition to the organization’s National Premier Leagues (NPL), as the EDP’s First Division will become the NPL Division.

The EDP - NPL Division represents the highest level of the EDP with the age group winners advancing to the inaugural National Premier Leagues Champions Cup, to be held July 27-31 at Waukegan Sports Park in Waukegan, Ill.

The EDP - NPL Division will include the U-13 through U-17 boys age groups. The foundation of the EDP - NPL Division will be the league’s Core Clubs, a group which includes:

“MSSL has a partnership with US Club Soccer that goes back to its inception,” said EDP Executive Director Bohdan Porytko. “US Club Soccer’s innovative thinking has enabled MSSL to provide important programming initiatives that we believe have served our only priority: player progression that promotes the development of the game in the U.S. We consulted with all our Core Club coaching directors and there was overwhelming support for this step.”

Within the EDP, a group of Core Clubs is the driving force for EDP programming. While competing with each other intensely, these clubs have many values that align with US Club Soccer’s Youth Club Standards. Both organizations are committed to "Best Practices" for developing young players to progress into successful careers on and off the field.

“The EDP includes a list of outstanding clubs overseen by some of the most respected youth coaching directors in the area,” said NPL General Manager Chris Baer. “We are excited to add them to the NPL structure and work more closely with them to change the soccer landscape."

For more information on the NPL, please contact NPL General Manager Chris Baer at cbaer@usclubsoccer.org or (614) 783-2237.

US Club Soccer’s National Premier Leagues have been created to provide a national competitive developmental platform:

• focused on long-term player development;
• for the country’s top soccer clubs, allowing consistent, meaningful high-level games appropriately scheduled with higher training-to-game ratios;
• that allows players to be scouted and evaluated by U.S. Soccer National Staff and Technical Advisors; 
• that is designed and structured by the clubs, based on the needs of the clubs.
• using international rules of competition;
• that provides an avenue for qualification for the NPL Champions Cup.
  

The NPL is an important component of US Club Soccer’s 10-year vision to refine the landscape for competitive youth soccer. This vision recognizes that:

• properly-structured youth soccer clubs are the vehicle through which player development does and must occur in the United States.
• clubs should play in leagues that provide meaningful games, allow establishment of the proper training-to-game ratio, and eliminate calendar congestion.
• National Premier Leagues, as well as the best clubs, should be integrated in US Club Soccer’s id² National Identification and Development Program, include Player Development Programs (PDPs) in select local markets, and work closely with U.S. Soccer staff regarding player identification, and player and coach development.

The culminating event each year is the NPL Champions Cup, where national championships will be awarded. The NPL Champions Cup will feature qualifiers from every NPL across the country in a true “champions league” competition.

For a listing of all leagues and clubs within the NPL, please visit nationalpremierleagues.com.

US Club Soccer is a non-profit organization committed to the development and support of soccer clubs and players in the United States. A National Association member of the U.S. Soccer Federation, US Club Soccer maximizes flexibility and offers youth and adult player and staff registration, integrated competition platforms at the recreational and competitive levels, as well as a variety of other programming, including the Olympic Development Program-sanctioned id² Program and Player Development Programs.

Unique to US Club Soccer is the ability of member clubs to unite youth and adult programs within one organization, creating a “members for life” culture within each club.

SJEB Club Members:

We wanted to announce that SJEB is offering another exclusive club apparel fundraiser this spring. There is a variety of quality items for players and their families to purchase and many are different than the fall selection. Each team will receive part of the profits for each item you or your family and friends purchase. There will be a place on each downloaded order form to note the team name to be credited for the purchase.  

To Order your club apparel:
1.  Download Attached Order Form
2.  Fill out the order form completely, making sure to include their team and coach! (ie. U14G/D’Ambra).  
3.  Include cash, check, or money order with order form and turn in to your team manager.
4.  Each teams manager and/or coach will collect order forms and money and hand into MBM by May 13^th.  
Order Deadline is May 13th!

Important Notes:
*  All Orders must be returned to MBM Sports by May 13th*
*  Checks and money orders need to be made out to MBM Sports
*  Delivery will be the week of May 28^th and Derek Reardigan (MBM) will send out an e-mail with specific info on where and when, time, etc.  
*  MBM will probably have a pick-up in Glassboro like they did before and 1 team representative will pick up ALL orders for that team. 
* Contact Derek Reardigan with any questions at: derek@mbmsports.com

SJEB Club is having a Club Fundraiser to support a scholarship fund program.  We are selling raffle tickets for all home Philadelphia Union games, 2 sets of 2 tickets per home game.  The draw will be made the monday prior to any Union Game. Union Schedule

All teams are required to sell a minimum of 5 raffle tickets per player, raffle tickets are $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00.  Your players may purchase all 5 tickets for themselves or sell them to family and friends.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to SJEB,

Robin Santini

Robin.Santini@NFIIndustries.com

We will implement small sided games to create game-like scenarios to encourage players to think quicker making better and smarter decisions, improving their first touch, creating space to run with the ball. Players are encourage to be creative, practice skills with out the fear of failure and to beat defenders. As well as soccer ball individual foot skills.

Dates: 3/30, 4/13, 4/20, 4/27, 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 5/25.

Age Groups: U11, U12, & U13 Boys. 

Where: ’The Farm’, 401 Myrtle Street, Hammonton, New Jersey, 08037.

Ages: U11 - 13yrs old - Boys Only, open to SJEB and non-SJEB players.

Cost: $65.00 for all 8 sessions or $10 per individual sessions. Checks made payable to ’SJ Elite Barons’

Coaches: Scott Middlemass & John Thompson SJEB Technical Directors.

Register: Click here to register

Field Players
Dates Fridays
Time: 6:30pm - 7:30pm.
Location  401 N. Myrtle Street, Hammonton, NJ 08037.
Take Route 30 East or West, the entrance to the Turf Farm is down Pine Road. When you get to the ’T’ junction at the lake take a left on North Myrtle St. Drive 300 meters and bear right at the fork in the road (you will see the red farm buildings straight ahead) the fields and parking are ahead of you on the left. 
Cost $10 per player.
Ages 8yrs - 13yrs Boys & Girls.
Contact Scott Middlemass - smiddlemass@sjbarons.com

Goalkeepers
Dates Wednesdays
Time: Session 1 - 6:00pm - 7:00pm (U8-U12)
           Session 2 - 7:00pm - 8:00pm (U13-U18)
Location  401 N. Myrtle Street, Hammonton, NJ 08037.
Take Route 30 East or West, the entrance to the Turf Farm is down Pine Road. When you get to the ’T’ junction at the lake take a left on North Myrtle St. Drive 300 meters and bear right at the fork in the road (you will see the red farm buildings straight ahead) the fields and parking are ahead of you on the left. 
Cost $10 per player.
Contact Nick Talarico - ntalarico4@hotmail.com