After 18 years of providing a daily training environment for a group of promising young players in Florida, U.S. Soccer has made the long overdue decision to end the U17 Residency Program at the end of the current semester.
The news announced on Friday is a long time coming in part because of what clubs like the Philadelphia Union have done with their academies, establishing their own spin on the concept with its complex at YSC Sports, a school at YSC Academy, and residency program in area homes staffed by house parents.
“One of our main hopes when establishing the U.