The Elite Players League (EPL) is run by Ohio Elite (OE) and most games are held at their OE Olberding Training Center in West Chester. The grass at the OE complex is top-notch, so good that when MLS’s NY Red Bulls were in town to play FC Cincinnati, that’s where they chose to train.
There are several reasons why we believe the EPL is the right league for developing many of our teams.
Player Development Benefits of the EPL:
- No scores or league standings are kept for U10 and younger – the focus is on developing skills vs. winning
- The league has been an early adopter of US Soccer player development initiatives with respect to field and goal sizes, number of players on the field, and rules such as goalkeepers not punting past the halfway line (to encourage teams to build from the back)
- Teams can “play up” or even “play down” in the EPL if it makes sense for finding the right competitive level for that team
- The EPL is not restrictive about guest playing so “teams” can be created weekly from the age group player pool
- The teams and other coaches tend to share our player development mindset
Additional benefits of playing in the EPL include:
- Other than games that we may schedule at our field, all games are at OE’s complex, which allows our coaches and families with multiple players to not have to be two places at once
- Self-scheduling allows us to ensure that we won’t have games on our tournament weekends, so there should be no rearranging of games during the season
- We may have the option to host EPL games as we have a great relationship with Ohio Elite
For more information, check out the EPL website.