Two Sporting Arkansas teams were recently accepted into the Sporting Development League, an exclusive league run by Sporting Kansas City,  for the first time. The Sporting Arkansas 2009 Boys Villarreal and 2011 Boys Atletico will be joining Sporting KC Academy teams and other top teams from across the Sporting KC Affiliate Network in a league that is hosted and managed by the staff at Sporting KC. 

According to the Sporting KC website, the Sporting Development League (SDL) is an independent youth soccer league featuring player and coach development is provided in cooperation with the SKC Academy. The league consists of clubs at the U12-U14 age groups who will play a seven-game season with a flexible schedule that offers freedom to participate in additional leagues and tournaments throughout the season.

The objective of the SDL is to provide a competitive and, more importantly, a developmental opportunity for players and coaches from the selected Affiliate clubs.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our 09s and 2011s,” remarked Sporting Arkansas Director of Coaching Scott Marksberry. “The SDL is a truly unique league opportunity. Our coaches will have conference calls with Sporting KC and the other SDL coaches to get aligned on the developmental concepts we are all targeting ahead of the games. The Sporting KC Academy teams and coaches will also be participating in the league, which opens the door for first-hand MLS Academy experiences for our boys.”

SDL is offered to select Sporting KC affiliate teams for free as one of the many benefits of being part of the SKC affiliate network. For more information on SDL or the SKC Affiliate benefits, check out the links below:

Sporting Development League: https://sportingkcyouth.com/sporting-development-league/

Sporting KC Affiliate Network: https://sportingkcyouth.com/academyaffiliates/