NCE Soccer are primed and ready to kick off the Winter Season – but it’s not too late to get involved.

The action starts tomorrow (Friday) with thousands of players from hundreds of different clubs participating in two weeks of tryouts to secure places at  NCE Soccer’s COE Program.

Spaces are limited at certain NCE Soccer locations, and all venues are filling up quickly, with some already reaching capacity. For locations with availability, tryout registrations will stay open until the day of the tryout.

“It’s going to be a busy Winter period of soccer programming for NCE Soccer, with more venues than ever and an even higher calibre of coaching as we bolster our team,” explained NCE Soccer coach John Curtis.

“Our COE Program continues to grow in strength and we have been inundated with new players hoping to earn their place on the program.

“The offer of free training through the NCE Foundation has had a massive impact, with lots of new families now leaning on our Foundation for financial support.

“Our Technical Training Programs provide opportunities for players to improve their basic skills learning from the best coaches in the business but without the same pressure and intensity of the COE Program.

“We have found that many players that don’t quite make the cut at tryouts for COE take advantage of the Technical Training Program and then come back and secure their COE place at tryouts the following season.

“The Future Program is brilliant. This is for those taking their first soccer steps. It is fun and it helps to the youngest develop the basics whilst having fun. Getting those skills right at the start sets the foundation for future players.”

Tryouts kick-off on Friday at Ophir Field in Purchase, New York and Dignity Health Centre in Southern California signaling two weeks of tryouts across all NCE Soccer regions.

The tryouts provide opportunities for boys and girls to earn a place at NCE Soccer’s 12-week Winter Program – but also the full range of NCE Soccer Programming.

Opportunities include international tours to England, Italy, Brazil and Sweden along with invitations to Residential Camps, Showcase Tournaments and much, much more.

The standards at tryouts are high and only the best players will be offered places to ensure they are able to maximise their opportunity.

“We are not a club, we provide supplementary coaching to the best players and our standards are unashamedly high,” explained NCE Soccer founder John Curtis.

“The standards have to be kept high to ensure that each player is able to get the most out of our coaching and not be held back by someone who isn’t of the same standard.

“That might sound harsh but that is the reality, we are not here as a catch-all coaching program, we see ourselves more of a finishing school or production line for those players that have a chance.

“Our coaches follow the same coaching program so that a player in California is doing exactly the same as a player in New York or Connecticut in the same week of the coaching program.

“This means we are developing talent across the United States concurrently and means when they do come together for tours or tournaments they are all on the same page.

“The standard gets better and the bar gets higher with every program we host and, as a result, the players coming through our system are getting better and better and our Alumni bears testimony to that.”

NCE Soccer was created by former Premier League player John Curtis. Curtis was heralded as one of English football’s greatest youth talents and was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United as a schoolboy.

He won the FA Youth Cup with United aged just 16 whilst still at school, and went onto make more than 282 professional appearances for a variety of top clubs including United, Blackburn Rovers, Leicester and Nottingham Forest.

But despite his success with club and country – he still is the most capped England schoolboy of all time – he felt he could have done more and is now dedicated to developing young talent in America.

“It has been hugely pleasing to see NCE Soccer grow and to look back at the players we have helped to develop who are now playing at the highest level of College Soccer and some make it as professionals,” John added.

“We have earned a reputation for developing talent and the Colleges and Universities now come to us because they know they will be watching and working with players of the highest quality.

“There are a number of players who are now playing professional who have through our system, for example the likes of Curtis Ofori at the New York Red Bulls and Diego Rossi in Italy with Parma Calico 1913.

“Top players like Se-Hanna Mars and Taylor Jenkins, who won the Gothia World Cup with NCE Soccer, are playing for the University of Connecticut and Aidan Coffey committing to Ivy League Penn Quakers.

“Finally clubs are seeing the benefits too, recognising that we are not a threat to them, in fact, we are quite the opposite. We are helping their best players to develop more quickly and adding additional quality to their teams.

“Parents and players are welcome to come and watch any of our sessions to see the quality of coaching for themselves and our Regional Directors would happily answer any questions if they wanted to reach out.”

NCE Soccer introduced the Centre of Excellence or COE Program to help players develop from the age of Under 9-through-to-18-years.

Players train with players of like-minded ability and are constantly reviewed by coaching staff. The program is demanding and will push players selected at tryouts.

The demands of the programming increases as players get older to prepare them for High School and College – working in partnership with top Division 1, 2 and 3 coaches.

NCE Soccer will also operate the Technical Training Program throughout the winter at 13 venues across America. The program was created for players aged Under 8-to-Under-11 who want to develop their basic skillset and technique.

There will be six venues in New York, three in New England, two in New Jersey and two in Southern California. Click the Schedule link for your local region to register for a place in your local area.

And, new for 2023/24, the NCE Foundation has launched to help providing funding for families who may require financial assistance – including free programming for those who need it most.

NCE Foundation has pledged to provide up to 10% of places at each venue – though those youngsters will have to earn selection via tryouts.

The Tryout Schedule is as follows:

New York Tryout

Outfield Tryout Schedule

• Ophir Field, Purchase, NY – Fri Dec 1st – FULL
• Coleman Country Day, Merrick, NY- Sun Dec 3rd – SIGN ME UP
• Superdome Sports, Waldwick, NJ – Sun Dec 3rd – FULL
• Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY – Fri Dec 8th – SIGN ME UP
• Hudson Valley, Milton, NY – Tues Dec 12th – SIGN ME UP
• Socceroof, Brooklyn, NY – Thurs Dec 14th – SIGN ME UP

Goalkeeping Tryouts

• Ophir Field, Purchase, NY – Fri Dec 1st – SIGN ME UP
• Coleman Country Day, Merrick, NY – Sun Dec 3rd – SIGN ME UP
• Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY – Fri Dec 8th – SIGN ME UP

Futsal Tryouts

• Queens College, NY – Mon Dec 4th – SIGN ME UP

New England Tryouts

Outfield Tryout Schedule

• InSports, Trumbull, CT – Sun, Dec 3rd – SIGN ME UP
• Wide World of Indoor Sports, Montville, CT – Tues Dec 12th – FULL
• Sports World, East Windsor, CT – Weds Dec 13th – SIGN ME UP

Goalkeeper Tryouts

• Wide World of Indoor Sports, Montville, CT – Tues Dec 12th – SIGN ME UP
• Sports World, East Windsor, CT – Weds Dec 13th – SIGN ME UP

North Atlantic Tryouts

Outfield Tryouts

• Total Turf, Pitman, NJ – Sun Dec 3rd – FULL
• The Fields Sports Complex, East Brunswick, NJ – Mon Dec 4th – SIGN ME UP
• XL Sports World, Cherry Hill, NJ – Fri Dec 8th – FULL

Goalkeeper Tryouts

• Total Turf, Pitman, New Jersey – Sun Dec 3rd – SIGN ME UP

Southern California Tryouts

Outfield Tryouts

• Dignity Health Park, Carson, CA – Fri Dec 1st – SIGN ME UP
• Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA – Sun Dec 3rd – SIGN ME UP

Goalkeeper Tryouts

• Dignity Health Park, Carson, CA – Fri Dec 1st – SIGN ME UP
• Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA – Sun Dec 3rd – SIGN ME UP