How SFYS Inspires Your Community

San Francisco Youth Soccer has spearheaded transformative programs that have not only revolutionized the local soccer scene but have also garnered national recognition and replication. 

One example initiative is the STAR program, developed to encourage referee retention by providing youth referees with buffers and support from challenging coaches and spectators. As a result of its success, it has become mandatory for registration in SFYS and replicated now in San Francisco NorCal leagues. 

Additionally, our youth referee camps, encouraging youth participation in officiating, have been nationally recognized and now partially funded by US Soccer through the USSF Innovative to Grow grant. 

In the coaching realm, SFYS’ Junior Coaching program is dedicated to empowering youth coaches with essential skills through comprehensive training clinics and coaching licensing assistance, and has since been replicated in nearly all major soccer clubs in San Francisco. 

Many of the local clubs have also taken inspiration from our projects such as SFYS @ School where SFYS encourages both sport sampling and extra opportunity to play free of cost for local San Francisco public schools as a cost-saving alternative to club play. By providing accessible and cost-saving alternatives to club play, we aim to make soccer inclusive and accessible to all children, regardless of their background or financial means. Moreover, SFYS supports many public school teams with volunteer coaches so we actively address the pay-to-play issues and comply with SFRPD scholarship and financial aid guidelines.