Does LAFC hold academy tryouts?
LAFC Performance Center · Los Angeles, California · Checked September 6, 2026
No public tryouts for the academy. LAFC Academy runs seven age groups from U-11 to U-19, free, and fills them by scouting Southern California's enormous club scene. The door most families do not know about is LAFC So Cal Youth, the club's partnership with Real So Cal in the San Fernando Valley: over 4,000 players, ECNL and SOCAL teams, and a real tryout process you enroll in online. It is a pay-to-play club that carries the LAFC badge and coaching methodology, and it is where academy staff can see a player every week.
Got a tryout? How to prepare your child, including MLS NEXT → How MLS NEXT tryouts work, in one guide →How recruitment works
Invitation into a training pool after scouting, then a roster decision. So Cal Youth: online enrollment, then an invited practice assessment.
- 01Scouted at club and league games across Southern California
Academy staff scout SOCAL, ECNL and MLS NEXT games and identification events across the region. Invitation follows repeated observation, usually into a training pool before a roster spot.
Official page ↗ - 02LAFC So Cal Youth tryouts
Enroll online through Otto Sport, upload a headshot, and the club invites your child to a team practice for assessment. Two or three teams per age group: ECNL, ECNL Regional League, SOCAL. Missed tryouts can still enroll and be invited later.
Official page ↗ - 03Academy training pools
Identified players are brought into age-group pools to train with academy coaches before any roster decision. Ask whether an invitation is a pool or a team.
- 04Scouted at MLS NEXT clubs and national events
For U15 and up, the academy also recruits from other MLS NEXT and elite academies, and at showcase tournaments where its staff and national team scouts attend.
- Los Angeles
- San Fernando Valley via LAFC So Cal Youth
- Orange County and the Inland Empire
- MLS Homegrown territory rules apply to signing, not to academy entry
- Ask whether it is LAFC Academy or LAFC So Cal Youth. Same badge, different organisations, different cost.
- Ask whether the invitation is a training pool or a team. Pools can run for months.
- The academy is young and recruits actively. Ask how many players in your child's age group were signed this year versus last.
- Homegrown rights follow the academy, not the youth club. Ask how that works before choosing between them.
What to check before you agree
Practice reading the game while you wait
Soccer IQ is how a player decides what to do before the ball arrives. Our Soccer IQ game shows short match moments and asks your child to choose. It is a free early version. It is for practice and talking together. It does not predict whether a child will be picked.
League and college numbers: Youth soccer in the US: the numbers.
- LAFC, About the Academy ↗
- LAFC So Cal Youth, Tryout enrollment ↗
- LAFC So Cal Youth, partnership announcement ↗
Updated October 16, 2026. Last verified September 6, 2026. Spotted a change? Tell us so we can check the page.
Compare every club: MLS academy tryouts 2026-27, club by club, or read how MLS NEXT tryouts work.
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