Our first stop on our youth soccer spotlight tour is in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis Scott Gallagher officially started in 2008; however, its roots can be traced back to the 1970s. We chose the St. Louis-based club for our first Youth Soccer Spotlight not only because it is one of the best academies in the country but also for its city’s historic presence as one of the first cities to have soccer in the United States. SLSG (st. Louis Scott Gallagher) has produced some of the best players in the country, such as Josh Sargent, Tim Ream, Will Bruin, and former FBD interviewee Fritz Volmar. This soccer city is also home to the Saint Louis Billikens men’s soccer team, which has won the NCAA tournament ten times.
In MLS Next, widely regarded as the best youth league in the U.S., St. Louis Scott Gallagher is consistently one of the top programs and one of the best non-MLS academies. On the girls’ side, they are equally dominant and boast numerous successes.
Not only does the club offer the highest level of competition at the youth level, but they also compete in USL League Two. USL League Two is not only a place for young players to showcase their talent at the semi-professional level but also a critical part of how Division I college players make it to professional soccer.
As a youth academy, they train at one of the best facilities in the country, World Wide Technology Soccer Park (formerly St. Louis Soccer Park). Their training grounds also include an impressive indoor training facility.
As you can see, St. Louis is an important city in the US Soccer landscape and SLSG is one of its finest products.
FBD | Tony Thomas DesRois
