U.S. Soccer introduced its latest strategy for 2025 and beyond during the United Soccer Coaches convention in Chicago, and it’s called “The U.S. Way.” The philosophy was introduced throughout multiple sessions and lectures during the conference, a key event for coaches, leaders, and stakeholders throughout soccer in the United States. U.S. sporting director Matt Crocker highlighted the work to develop the federation’s new strategy over his 18 months with USSF.
The vision targets areas of scouting and development for youth players through more resources and infrastructure with a collaborative approach with clubs, and he explained during the convention that “The U.S. Way” is also a playing philosophy that aims to put the player at the center of every decision.
“It’s not about us, it’s not about winning. It’s not about what’s right for me as a coach, it’s about what’s right for the individual player, and we want to make sure all of our coaches start to think in that mindset,” Crocker said during his convention presentation.
What is “The U.S. Way?”
It’s a multifaceted strategy for U.S. Soccer that emphasizes player development and revamps the perspective that the U.S. Soccer Federation is in service to the growth of soccer across the nation.
“We want U.S. Soccer to become the number one support service to help you as clubs and coaches in player development. When you have a question or concern, we want your first instinct to be, ‘I can get help from U.S. Soccer.’ We want to be the number one place for your learning and development,” Crocker told coaches at the convention.
The philosophy has three core themes and each has targeted outcomes with resources to reach various short and long-term goals. Foundational to the core themes is a club and country engagement model that centers around U.S. Soccer’s work in service to members, clubs, and leagues.
Here’s a breakdown of the three core themes:
Scouting, talent ID, and more development
Crocker further outlined the vision’s role in upcoming and future major international events like the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup and the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. A key component is scouting and development. Crocker noted that 95% of player development occurs at the club level and while he introduced it as a performance plan aiming for podium finishes, the ultimate goal is to make sure connections with players at the youth levels are immediate, impactful, and fun for players and their families.
More camps, better infrastructure, and a shared domestic calendar to avoid conflicts between club and national team commitments are just some of the ways U.S. Soccer wants to bridge the gap between youth national teams and the senior level teams. Improving player development through better resources, talent ID programming, and a collaborative approach with clubs to strike a balance with national team play is expected to begin during the summer of 2025, but we can already see early concepts with the U.S. women’s national team “futures camp” taking place in January.
“We also want our overall youth national team system to act as a feeder system into our senior teams,” said Crocker. ‘So with Mauricio [Pochettino] now and Emma [Hayes] — which, I’m delighted to have those two top coaches in the world that sets out our intention for the future but also top human beings and top leaders — that really value the individual and really respect what we’re trying to do and see the power that they can play in the overall ecosystem.’
‘We want to make sure that they have a significant influence over that pathway of age and stage development that’s all connected together and ultimately produces better, high-potential, experienced, confident individuals. That when they step up into the senior team, have got all the tricks and the tools to be successful within that environment.”
Look ahead
The new year is officially underway with January camps set for both national teams. Youth national teams and regional camps will have more opportunities to gather later this year. The USMNT are currently preparing for two friendlies during their January training camp. Pochettino’s squad will face Venezuela and Costa Rica to close out the month with the first match on Saturday.
USWNT manager Emma Hayes has nearly 50 players between two rosters participating in January camp. Originally slated to take place in Carson, Calif., the camp has been relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., due to the Los Angeles wildfires. No matches are scheduled for the massive winter gathering, but the program will host Australia, Colombia, and Japan during the SheBelieves Cup in February.
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