As the year comes to a close and the majority of club soccer cools down, it’s NorCal Premier Soccer’s prestigious Player Development Program that begins to heat up, with four major events taking place in the next month or so.

Starting this weekend and going through Dec. 4, the PDP calendar includes a pair of mini camps, boys and girls state games, and a regional playdate.

Roughly 40 players from the 2004 and 2005 birth years will meet at each of two separate mini camps Sunday Nov. 6, with Regions 3/4 and 2 gathering for training at Tiffany Roberts Soccer Field in San Ramon, and Regions 7 and 8 meeting at McNamara Park in Merced for early morning training sessions followed by afternoon games.

The following Sunday, Nov. 13, The Davis Legacy Soccer Complex will play host to an identical mini camp for Regions 5 and 6.

During the mini camps, coaches will observe and then select 22-24 players from each camp to participate in Dec. 4’s regional playdate, to take place at the Davis Legacy Soccer Complex.

“This weekend will be the final confirmation because we’ve already had a few trainings,” said NorCal Vice President, Paolo Bonomo. “This will help to finalize the selection process for the regional teams.”

Rosters for that playdate, in which each region plays competitive matches against two other regions in front of PDP State and US Training Center Scouts, will be announced on or before Nov. 22.

Meanwhile, for an older group of players, the next few weeks gives them an opportunity to test themselves against some of the best players in the country in the boys and girls state games.

First up are the boys, who take on a pair of US Training Center squads on Nov. 8 at Rancho San Ramon Community Park in San Ramon.

Players from the 2001, 2002 and 2003 birth years in the PDP will face the 2002 and 2003 birth year squad of the US Training Center, while the PDP’s 2000’s and 2001’s suit up against the Training Center’s 2001’s and 2002’s.

Both matches will feature three 30 minute periods of play.

The following week, girls teams made up of 2000/2001 birth years and 2002/2003 birth years will head to Vallejo at a venue to-be-determined for state games in which players from the north regions will face their counterparts from the south.

“Most of these kids, when they’re in their club, they are the best player of the team,” Bonomo said. “When they go to their games, they play all of the game or most of the games. When they come in this environment, nothing is guaranteed or taken for granted.”

The full PDP calendar can be accessed here.

About PDP: NorCal Premier Soccer’s unique Premier Development Program is a free-of-cost initiative which gathers all the best players across Northern California and groups them together for regular high-level training sessions with top coaches, in order to simulate a professional environment. Players in the PDP regularly make the jump to the next level of soccer, whether that’s college, professional, or national team level. For more information, click here. 

By Evan Ream. Follow @EvanReam