Historically anyway, youth soccer in the U.S. inevitably tilted toward those clubs that won. A parent’s experience picking out clubs for their kids inevitably looked like a finger tracing their win/loss ratio. Whether or not their coaches had a track record of producing quality next-level players.

US Club Soccer’s Kevin Payne has a different vision for how parents and players choose their development stops. Enter Players First, a new suite of resources being rolled out by USCS to help smooth the path from there to here. In essence, the youth soccer organization wants to create the soccer equivalent of a Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval by vetting clubs on how well they promote the finer points of development to their players.

In short, US Club Soccer is looking to rock what it means to be a high-functioning club soccer team down to its filaments.