Our Model.
DCFC is completely free for players.
Most travel soccer clubs operate on a “pay to play” model, with minimal effort spent to identify kids from underserved communities, let alone to build comprehensive financial aid programs that could support them if they did. The cost to simply register to play on most travel soccer teams is several thousand dollars each year, and that doesn’t include costs associated with additional travel and opportunities for growth. Scholarships are occasionally offered to players that need them, but even if that happens, additional fees consistently crop up.
To combat the pay to play model that has sidelined athletes from low-income families for far too long, DCFC is completely free for players.
High-Level Coaches and Bilingual Leaders.
In the past, when we worked with players to get them onto travel teams, families struggled with any communications from the club because of language barriers. With this in mind, we communicate to our participants and their families in English and Spanish.
Additionally, those same players had not received the high-level coaching they needed at a young age before joining travel teams, so they were already at a disadvantage. With that in mind, we’ve brought in licensed, professional coaches to lead our programming.
Programming Accessible by Public Transportation.
Most travel teams practice and compete a significant distance for the communities where our players live. Most of our families work long hours and don’t have their own cars, so to provide greater accessibility, DCFC sessions are all held within walking distance of public transportation.
We operate on an independent schedule to mitigate costs and travel.
Through our work, we’ve discovered one of the reasons costs of pay-to-play youth travel soccer clubs are so high is because teams have significant fees to compete in a variety of leagues, showcases, and tournaments, requiring hours of travel and pricey trips throughout each year.
To avoid these additional costs and travel which have long made competing inaccessible to our players, DCFC operates on an independent schedule, competing in matches against other local clubs and playing in tournaments within manageable distances of the District of Columbia.
Supplemental Programming.
The players we serve face barriers to short-term and long-term growth on and off the field. To address these inherent barriers, we provide expanded programming to the players we serve, including tutoring, guest speakers, mentorship, SAT preparation, college counseling sessions, as well as soccer-specific nutrition, health, and wellness workshops.
Professional Leadership.
DCFC’s curriculum and vision for youth development is guided by Open Goal Project Executive Director, Amir Lowery, who competed as a student-athlete in college at Wake Forest University and played soccer professionally for nearly a decade in Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. Amir holds a USSF ‘B’ coaching license, and has coached players at a variety of youth levels from elementary to high school age groups. He is incredibly passionate and driven to bring equality and diversity to the US youth soccer landscape.