What is the Elite Player Development League (EPDL)  EPDL was developed by WAGS as a means to enhance player development and growth through more flexibility and less rules and regulations.  The EPDL is a compilation of 7 local clubs that have agreed to be the founding clubs of the league and determine, jointly, how the league games, game times and locations are determined.  The EPDL is similar to the WAGS Pod system, however, it provides flexibility with scheduling, player movement and overall Technical Staff decisions. EPDL empowers are Technical Staff to develop the individual players the best way they see fit.

Clubs Participating Lee Mount Vernon Soccer Chantilly Youth Association Virginia Soccer Association Severna Park Soccer Calverton Soccer Fairfax Police Youth Soccer Vienna Youth Soccer

Benefits Flexibility in scheduling and rosters Enhance player development Reduce rules and regulations that limit Technical Staff innovations Improve Technical Staff’s evaluation process Input into the future of the EPDL Eventual entry into NPL Creation of All Star Teams

VYS Academies Participating in the EPDL VYS has committed two teams in both the U9 and U10 Girls and Boys Academies to participate in the EPDL this coming fall season. VYS has also committed two teams from the U11 Girls Academy. The two teams committed are the Red and Black teams from each Academy. Although only two teams are able to participate, each team may contain up to 26 players. Therefore the Technical Staff wanted the flexibility to include players from White and Silver and thus they were registered in the EPDL as well. (For U11s, only White was registered in the EPDL, not Silver) VYS Boys will also participate in their normal NCSL league games and the EPDL games will be considered bonus games. Only 5 of the 7 clubs included their Boys teams and thus there were not enough games and variety for the boys only to play in the EPDL. This may change in the Spring season.

Fall Season Schedule EPDL Kick-Off Festival: Saturday, Sept 6 th, v 3 games in Calverton for Girls Teams. Season will be comprised of 6 games. VYS has at least 3 home games. Home field is Colvin Run Elementary. Goal is to have all age groups playing at same field. This will allow Technical Staff to watch and evaluate more players during the season. EPDL End of Season Festival: TBD

Game Format 7 v 7 for U9s and U10s; 8 v 8 for U11s On-the-fly substitutions Unlimited guests No limit on underage players

Player Movement In order to play in the EPDL, players must be registered with US Club Soccer. Players from Red, Black, White and Silver should be registered in the US Club Soccer system. In order to ensure player development and competitive games, the Technical Staff will meet each week to discuss the competitiveness of their clubs and identify the best possible match up for the players.

Player Movement (cont.) Movement of players, if any, will primarily be between Red and Black. Parents will know their game schedule each week by Wednesday of that week. Since games are at the same location each week, regardless of Red or Black and normally at concurrent times or back to back, the impact to the families is expected to be minimal. Communication is KEY and the Team Managers will be instrumental in communicating to the families as well as sorting player cards.

Technical Staff: Eddie Lima: Jane Dawber: Gerardo Ramirez: Travel Committee: Ryan Phair: Nick Makrigiorgos: Frequently Asked Questions: