Making Player Development Visible for Competitive Youth Academies

The Academy Retention System helps pay-to-play clubs reduce player churn by structuring, measuring, and communicating development clearly over time.

Academies Skills Challenges Coaches Parents
Academy Retention System

STABILISE YOUR ACADEMY

  • Reduce player churn by making development visible to parents. Structured benchmarking, progress tracking, and clear
    communication - built for competitive pay-to-play clubs.
Player Development Visibility

BENCHMARK DEVELOPMENT

  • Measure your skills against clear performance standards and track your progress over time through the Soccer Skills Challenge.

Development Visibility Tools

Tools that make progress measurable and reduce retention pressure.

Academy Retention System for competitive youth soccer academies

Academy Retention System

iSportScouting

Development visibility that stabilises retention.

Soccer Skills Challenge for objective player benchmarking

Soccer Skills Challenge

iSportScouting

Objective benchmarking and progress tracking.

Player pathway support grounded in performance

Pathway Support

iSportScouting

Progression conversations grounded in evidence.

The Real Problem

Youth Soccer’s Hidden Retention Problem

Across the United States and internationally, competitive academies are facing increasing player churn.

In most cases, development is not the issue.

Visibility is.

When parents cannot clearly see progress:

  • Emotion fills the gap.
  • Emotion creates doubt.
  • Doubt leads to movement.

In pay-to-play environments, that movement creates financial instability and coaching pressure.

Retention does not decline because coaching is poor.

Retention declines because development is difficult to see.

The Structured Solution

The Academy Retention System

A structured development visibility framework built for competitive youth academies.

Three integrated layers:

Objective Benchmarking

Standardized skills assessments that measure development consistently across the season.

Parent Dashboard Visibility

Secure mobile-access dashboards allowing families to see measurable progress over time.

Structured Development Conversations

Coaches anchor communication in objective evidence rather than perception alone.

The Soccer Skills Challenge operates as the benchmarking engine within this system.

The academy remains fully in control.

What Changes

When Development Becomes Visible

  • Parent conversations become calmer
  • Promotion decisions are supported by evidence
  • Coaches feel less short-term pressure
  • Emotional player movement decreases
  • Revenue cycles become more predictable

Retention stabilises when staying becomes rational.

Pilot Approach

Low-Risk Implementation

Most academies begin with a defined pilot cohort (typically 30–60 players):

  • Single age group implementation
  • Structured assessment window
  • Unlimited benchmarking within pilot group
  • No per-attempt testing fees

Directors evaluate impact on:

  • Parent confidence
  • Coach clarity
  • Retention stability

There is no obligation to scale if measurable value is not created.

Player Development Visibility

Soccer Skills Challenge

Objective Development Benchmarking

The Soccer Skills Challenge provides standardized technical assessments that measure core football actions consistently across the season.

Running, sprinting, ball mastery, agility, and shooting are benchmarked against clear performance standards.

Progress is tracked over time - turning development into measurable evidence rather than opinion.

Professional Skills Analysis

Structured Game-Based Evaluation

For deeper development insight, match footage can be reviewed and analysed by experienced coaches.

Structured feedback highlights strengths, improvement areas, and performance patterns - supporting long-term development conversations rather than short-term exposure.

This analysis complements structured benchmarking inside the Academy Retention System.

Pathway Support

Performance-Led Progression Conversations

For players performing above their current level, structured benchmarking and analysis provide evidence to support pathway discussions.

After uploading game videos and having our team highlight the player's skills, users can then explore our extensive database of clubs.

  • MLS Next
  • ECNL
  • College recruitment
  • International opportunities where appropriate

Progression remains performance-based. The academy remains the development owner.

Long-Term Player Development

Clarity Across the Journey

Every player’s pathway is different.

Structured benchmarking and visible progress help align expectations between players, parents, and coaches - reducing uncertainty and supporting sustainable development.

The focus remains on measurable improvement, not marketing promises.

If Retention Pressure Is Active Inside Your Club

Let’s compare notes.

Most conversations are 15-20 minutes and focused entirely on your environment.

No hard sell.
No obligation.

The Academy Retention System supports coaching it does not replace it.


Book a Conversation

What Academy Leaders, Coaches & Families Are Saying

Ian Bishop - West Ham United

Ian Bishop - West Ham United

This will change the whole scouting process. No more hoping to be in the right place at the right time, take the initiative and get yourself seen.

James Meara - Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy Director

James Meara - Pittsburgh Riverhounds

What a fantastic idea. Being able to see a comparison baseline of the fundamentals of the game against top EPL Academy Players is a huge first step in any evaluation process.

Jon Willis - UK Football Scouting
Nov 12, 2024

Jon Willis - UK Football Scouting

We use the Skills Assessments in all our Football Trials and Talent ID Events, providing valuable data to support player recommendations to clubs.

Russ Horsely - Phang Nga United FC
Feb 09, 2025

Russ Horsely - Phang Nga United FC

I’ve seen this platform grow into a market leader, providing crucial data and real player development skills that can be assessed anywhere.

Glen Little - ex-Premier League Player
Feb 08, 2025

Glen Little - ex-Premier League Player

The Skills Assessment is the perfect prep for Football Trials, giving us key insights into a player’s physical abilities before they step into a game.

Paul Cox - Ex-Pro Player, EFL Manager
Oct 20, 2023

Paul Cox - Ex-Pro Player, EFL Manager

Having been in the football/soccer industry for 30+ years I can honestly say there is no better way to develop players than iSportScouting.

Brian Lee - Scout
Jan 17, 2024

Brian Lee - Blackpool FC Scout

iSportScouting is a game-changer for coaches, players, and scouts. It's a must-have for smarter recruiting and effective player development.

What Parents And Players Are Saying

Feb 20, 2024

Parent - Hindley Town Bulls (u9s)

We have finished reading through the report and thank you so much for taking the time to put all the lads through. We have fed parts of it back to Arthur so he knows what he could do if he wants to improve. The level of detail means that he is under no illusion as to what he could do to build his skills. I think he dad has enjoyed it too because it has given him an indication of what they could play in the garden to help Arthur improve as well as little things like getting out on the bikes more or running. Thanks again for indulging his love of football and coaching in a way that not only makes them better players so they can enjoy playing more competitively but makes them better sportsmen.

Feb 22, 2024

Parent - Hindley Town Bulls (u9s)

We are really impressed with the standards of professionalism shown by yourself Brian, we find it speaks volumes in regards to your committment and relationship you are building with Charlie and the team. You don’t only highlight his best qualities on the pitch you also state what he has to work towards and how there is room for improvement meaning his training sessions will always have a purpose and and the end goal to always achieve better which I find gives charlie motivation and determination to be the best he can be. Football is more than a hobby to Charlie, it is his whole life, his complete passion and dream and with this kind of training, guidance and understanding I hope one day he will achieve his goals. We are looking forward to the next one to see how he has grown and we trust the process completely

Feb 20, 2024

Parent - Hindley Town Bulls (u9s)

Troy was over the moon when he found out that he had scored too marks in the shooting challenge. This has really helped with confidence and we have seen a positive impact on both training and in matches as he now knows what he needs to work on and is very keen to do so.

Feb 21, 2024

Cullen – Hindley Town Bulls u9s player

The Soccer Skills Assessment was really fun! I got to practice my dribbling, passing, and shooting, and it made me feel like a real football star. It's definitely helped me become a better player, and I can't wait for more challenges!

Feb 20, 2024

Ben – Hindley Town Bulls u9s player

The iSportScouting report is really cool! It shows all the things I can do well in football and the stuff I need to get better at. The skills challenge was fun, and I liked seeing what I’m good at and what I can practice more. The report helps my parents know how they can help me get better, and that’s awesome! I can’t wait to see my next report to see how much I’ve improved. Thanks, iSport and Brian!