United Soccer Coaches

What is United Soccer Coaches?

United Soccer Coaches is a membership association of soccer coaches in the United States. Its stated mission is to “provide programs and services that enhance, contribute to, and advocate for the development and recognition of soccer coaches, players, and the game we love”, and it describes itself as the “world’s largest soccer coaches’ organization that serves members at every level of the game”.^[1] That size claim is the association’s own; no independent comparison of coaches’ organisations could be retrieved.

It is not a governing body. Its own pages describe no rule-making, sanctioning or championship role; the work they describe is education for coaches, recognition programmes and rankings, and an annual convention.^[5][8]

In law it is a US non-profit. ProPublica’s copy of its IRS filings lists it as “United Soccer Coaches Association”, Kansas City, Missouri, tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), with a ruling year of 1993; its most recent return on file covers the fiscal year ending August 2024.^[3] The association’s board of directors is headed by its president, Paul Payne, with a treasurer, a secretary, vice-presidents for awards and recognition, education, events and operations, and membership and communities, and members at large.^[9]

What does United Soccer Coaches do?

Rankings. The association “provides National and Regional College Rankings for all divisions of men’s and women’s NCAA, NAIA, NCCAA, and Junior College soccer”, and also ranks boys’ and girls’ high school teams nationally and regionally in the fall, winter and spring seasons.^[6][5] The college rankings are a coaches’ poll: regional chairs gather scores from coaches in their region, compile a regional top 10, and “only coaches vote on the poll, both regionally and nationally”.^[6] The association describes the result as “the most widely recognized national and regional soccer ranking system in the country”.^[7]

Awards. It states that “more than 12,000 awards are presented each year”, across college, high school, youth and association levels;^[5] its join page gives the figure as nearly 11,000 awards a year.^[10] Both figures are the association’s own.

Coaching education. Membership gives access to the association’s education courses and advanced diplomas, its training content and its publication, Soccer Journal, as well as general liability insurance.^[10] These are the association’s own courses and diplomas.

What it does not govern is the game itself: the college championships belong to the NCAA, the NAIA and the junior-college bodies, and a United Soccer Coaches ranking or All-America selection is the association’s, not theirs.^[6]

When was United Soccer Coaches founded and where is it based?

The association dates its founding to 1941. Its history page states that “eleven months before that eventful Sunday morning of December 7th, a handful of insightful men created an organization”, which it names as “the National Soccer Coaches Association of America”, starting “with 80 members that year”. It gives the 1941 goals as to promote the game of soccer, to generate greater publicity for the sport, and to improve teaching of the game through soccer clinics as well as research and evaluation.^[2] The founding account is the association’s own; no independent record of it could be retrieved, and the IRS ruling year of 1993 records a tax determination, not a founding.^[3]

The renaming is dated. A release of 2 August 2017, datelined Chicago, announced that “The National Soccer Coaches Association of America is now United Soccer Coaches”, in what it called “the association’s 76-year history”, and unveiled the host cities of the renamed United Soccer Coaches Convention.^[4] The IRS filings now carry the name United Soccer Coaches Association.^[3]

The association gives its address as 30 W. Pershing Rd., Suite 203, Kansas City, Missouri, and its IRS filings place it in Kansas City.^[1][3]

How is United Soccer Coaches recognised?

Its standing is that of a private professional association. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit governed by a board of directors, with a president and officers named on its own site.^[3][9] No document retrieved shows the NCAA, the NAIA, the NJCAA or the U.S. Soccer Federation delegating any governing function to it, and none names its awards or rankings as their own.

Its relationship with college soccer runs through membership. The association states that “eligibility for United Soccer Coaches awards programs at the intercollegiate level is through College Services Membership”, so its college honours are open to the programmes whose coaches belong; its rankings cover the NCAA, NAIA, NCCAA and junior-college divisions, and its polls are voted by coaches.^[6]

Its college player awards list also includes the MAC Hermann Trophy.^[6] Its polls are voted by coaches, and its rankings committees are made up of coaches organised by region;^[6][7] an All-America selection, a Staff of the Year award or a poll ranking from United Soccer Coaches is published under the association’s name.

What does United Soccer Coaches organise?

The convention. The United Soccer Coaches Convention is held each January. The 2026 edition ran 14–17 January 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the next is scheduled for 20–23 January 2027 in Kansas City, and the 2028 convention for Baltimore, Maryland. The association advertises “over 100 lecture sessions and field demonstrations”.^[8]

College awards. For college players the association names All-America and All-Region teams and Scholar All-America and All-Region teams, an Award of Distinction, the MAC Hermann Trophy and the Jerry Yeagley Award; for teams, a Team Academic Award, an award named the “Team Pinnacle Award” and a Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award; for coaches, Staff of the Year, the Bill Jeffrey Award and recognition of coaching milestone victories. Awards councils and committees, and separate rankings committees, are listed on its site.^[6]

Rankings. National and regional college rankings for the NCAA, NAIA, NCCAA and junior colleges, and national and regional high school rankings by season.^[5]

High school and youth. Award programmes also run at high school and youth level, and at association level.^[5] No start year for the All-America teams or the polls could be retrieved from the association’s pages.

Who are its members?

Members are individual coaches and, for awards purposes, college programmes. The association’s join page offers a full membership at $150 and lists membership routes for college, high school and youth coaches, member clubs and recreation coaches, together with a youth affiliate programme.^[10] At college level, eligibility for its awards programmes runs “through College Services Membership”.^[6]

On numbers, the association states that it started “with 80 members” in 1941 and “has grown to 30,000 strong”; the figure carries no date on its history page.^[2] Its 2017 renaming release quoted its chief executive at the time, Lynn Berling-Manuel, as saying “We are the world’s largest community of soccer coaches with more than 30,000 members”.^[4] Both figures are the association’s own; no independent membership count could be retrieved.

The board whose composition the association publishes consists of a president, treasurer and secretary, four vice-presidents and members at large.^[9]