What is the Player Development League (PDL)?

The Player Development League (PDL) serves as the premier development program for children Age 4 through 3rd grade in the Bethesda, Rockville, and Potomac area and is your player’s first step in the Potomac Soccer player development program. Through our professionally licensed coaching staff, we offer players a top-quality curriculum through age-appropriate, fun and challenging games. Our mission is to provide players with the foundational skills needed in order to grow their self-confidence.

Practice Day
Our PDL coaching staff cultivate an environment that is both fun and competitive. This allows your player to advance their game in a focused setting, where we implement a proven, age-appropriate curriculum that builds on each age (4-8-year-olds) level as your player progresses through the academy. Through each phase, we will focus on improving fundamental soccer skills.

What is the Match Day Experience?
Our Player Development League (PDL) allows players to compete in friendly matches against groups and teams from other local schools in their area. Teams will be coordinated & set up by school, gender & grade & each team is guaranteed 5 games per season (Fall/Spring). Results are not posted or scores tracked. Brit-Am Coaches referee the matchups and use active in-game coaching to guide & teach the players. Our goal is to create an environment that is fun, educational and challenging while also preparing players for Classic or Travel League action as they grow older.

4&5 Year Old Match Day Format: Our PDL Dribblers program is the first step our young players take in learning the game of soccer through the PDL pathway. The 4&5-year-old program is an introduction to small-sided soccer games in a 3v3 format (no goalies) — designed to create an understanding of the game, the rules, and to allow the players to increase their time with the ball at their feet, resulting in more touches on the ball. With the guidance of our coaching staff, your player will have a blast dribbling, passing, shooting, and scoring!

K-1st Match Day Format: Our PDL Kickers (Kindergarten and 1st Grade)  offers soccer education at its best in a positive, fun environment where players improve their skills during continuous play. The 4 v 4 format (no goalies) accelerates the development of attacking and defending concepts by teaching dribbling, turning, tackling, and scoring abilities as it provides a basic picture for players to learn the game. Our professional staff takes the necessary steps to ensure each game fits the players’ needs, ultimately leading to better game intelligence and understanding.

2nd-3rd Match Day Format: Our PDL Ballers (2nd-3rd Grade) program provides players a fun environment with coaches focused on building a strong technical foundation. These five-a-side games (5v5 format), first used as a developmental tool in the UK, feature four field players and a goalkeeper. This style is simple, yet allows for players to gain experience through realistic, game-like situations. Along with a basic introduction to goalkeeping, the five-a-side format results in consistent touches on the ball and a fundamental understanding of the principles of attack, defense & transition with the guidance of our professional coaching staff.