Fellow Five Stripes fans, we finally have an update on the upcoming academy season. This has been a wild year for the youth game in our country with COVID and the USSDA’s collapse throwing competition, schedules, and the future of many players into doubt. American youth soccer was forced to reinvent itself in the midst of one of the most turbulent years our society has experienced in generations. Out of necessity, the USL and MLS announced their own visions for academy competition that approach the youth game with differing priorities but with great shared ambition.