Lakeland United, Florida Tropics join forces to develop Polk County soccer talent
After realizing that both programs together actually complete a full pathway, the Florida Tropics and Lakeland United soccer organizations decided to move forward with an official partnership that will help develop local talent.
Becoming official this past January, Florida Tropics x Lakeland United: College Soccer Partnership will kick off in August with the start of the new school and youth soccer calendar year.“It feels like bridging a missing gap,” Lakeland United head coach Tauan Salgado said. “Our dream at Lakeland United FC, since our official inception in 2021, was to always create a full pathway for soccer in our community, from early age all the way to the college soccer and pro soccer careers. As our immediate focus has been the gap year and college prep program, we’ve always felt like we were missing a big piece of the puzzle: the earlier and deeper development of young soccer athletes.
“Up until today, our job was to find/recruit talented 17-18 (year old) kids and take them to their next step, which is a college soccer scholarship. Starting in August, we will have a partner who does an amazing job creating a culture of true development for the kids, both on and off the field. We will have a feeder program that will serve as our academy, and that will propel these young men and women for a successful college career with Lakeland United FC serving as the last preparation step.”
How did the Lakeland United get to this partnership? Salgado said his program took notice of many soccer programs being very segmented. In other words, those programs are only good or even experts in one or two areas, but they never comprise the system in its entirety. Salgado said he believes that, in joining forces, both the Lakeland United and Florida Tropics will be unique in the sense of creating a full pathway for competitive soccer.
This new program will start at the usual competitive earliest ages (7-8 years old), passing through the middle and high school years, all the way to college years and even focusing on providing guidance for the post-college careers. While soccer is only a part of each kid’s story, there is a world of opportunities beyond the world’s most popular sport, and Salgado said that the Lakeland United and the Florida Tropics want to ensure they are creating this unique timeline that will guide them in full.“Polk County is the fastest growing county in our country right now, and a common thread that we see happening today is that the top local talent from our county is scattered around Tampa, Orlando and the Greater Central Florida area. The reason given by many is the lack of a comprehensive soccer program that is designed to meet the full pathway,” Salgado said. “Both Lakeland United FC and the Florida Tropics Academy need each other in order to be able to fulfill this complete pathway.”
Lakeland United is known to have an enormous pool of international players, while the Florida Tropics Academy has the heart of the Lakeland and Polk County communities. Salgado said the aim is to foster a special cultural exchange system within the Polk County community, which will range from languages, personalities, physical traits, style of play, among many other aspects.As for the Florida Tropics Academy, it will continue to work with the current age groups that range from 7-8 years old all the way to 16-17 years old, which are the usual ages within the youth soccer timeline. Lakeland United FC will continue to work with student-athletes that range from 16-17 all the way to 22-23 years of age. How it works in unison is that once these young student-athletes complete their full pathway through the youth soccer system with the Tropics, Lakeland United will take over and guide them through the college placement process, as well as the semi-professional level of competition.Both parties encourage the young boys and girls from Polk County to sign up for the Florida Tropics Academy tryouts that are coming up in April and May. And from this point on, Lakeland United FC’s coaching staff and directors of recruitment will be actively participating in the evaluations of top local talent prior and during their official youth soccer seasons and together, the programs will create a system to guide each player individually.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland United, Florida Tropics join forces to develop Polk County soccer talent
-
Fury, Rooney to manage England Soccer Aid side
Former heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury and ex-Manchester United and England forward Wayne Rooney will join forces to co-manage the England Soccer Aid side at Old Trafford in June.ESPN - 5d -
Report: Liverpool join Arsenal in pursuit of talented young Ligue 1 midfielder
Liverpool’s Scouting Network Identifies Ayyoub Bouaddi as a Future StarLiverpool’s transfer radar continues to track emerging talents, and the latest name to surface is Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi. T...Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Rooney and Fury to manage England at Soccer Aid
Former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will join Wayne Rooney as two of England's co-managers for Soccer Aid 2025.BBC News - 6d -
Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami: Time, TV, how to watch Messi play on Sunday Night Soccer
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will take on Atlanta United on Apple TV’s Sunday Night Soccer at 7 tonight. Here's what you need to know.Yahoo Sports - 17h -
UNM hoops fans can get complimentary tickets to United game Saturday in Las Vegas. Here's how.
Mar. 13—LAS VEGAS, Nev. — New Mexico sports fans will have a chance to hit a rare basketball-soccer jackpot this weekend in Las Vegas. All they need to do is find Peter Trevisani. New Mexico ...Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Trump to lead task force for 2026 World Cup
President Donald Trump created a task force Friday to prepare for the 2026 World Cup, which will bring the globe's premier soccer tournament to North America.ESPN - Mar. 8 -
Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter announces run for California governor
Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter made the announcement Tuesday morning, joining a long list of other Democrats hoping to fill Gov. Gavin Newsom's seat next year.CBS News - 5d -
Cooper Kupp signing with Seahawks: Former Rams star WR joining Seattle on three-year, $45M deal, per report
Kupp is taking his talents to SeattleCBS Sports - 2d -
Manchester United reveals plans for the "world's greatest" soccer stadium to replace Old Trafford
Manchester United has unveiled plans to build the biggest stadium in the United KingdomABC News - 5d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Antonio says he came 'close to dying' in car crash that left the West Ham striker with shattered leg
West Ham striker Michail Antonio is “100%” confident he will play again as he recovers from a car crash that left him with a “completely shattered” leg and a realization “how close I was to ...Yahoo Sports - 16m -
Updating LSU women's basketball's national title odds after NCAA Selection Sunday
Here's where LSU women's basketball stands in the latest national championship odds following the March Madness bracket revealYahoo Sports - 19m -
New Bears DE Dayo Odeyingbo discusses playing opposite Montez Sweat
New Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo is excited to learn from Montez Sweat.Yahoo Sports - 19m -
Islanders Playoff Chase Update After Comeback Win vs. Panthers
ELMONT, NY -- The New York Islanders entered Sunday night's matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers six points back of the second wild-card spot with 18 games to go.Yahoo Sports - 22m -
🎥 All of the best bits from Newcastle's fantastic EFL Cup final win 🔥
Newcastle United ended English football's most infamous trophy drought, defeating Liverpool 2-1 to win the EFL Cup at Wembley on Sunday. And after a 70 year wait, you just knew the Toon Army would ...Yahoo Sports - 23m
More in Sports
-
Antonio says he came 'close to dying' in car crash that left the West Ham striker with shattered leg
West Ham striker Michail Antonio is “100%” confident he will play again as he recovers from a car crash that left him with a “completely shattered” leg and a realization “how close I was to ...Yahoo Sports - 16m -
Updating LSU women's basketball's national title odds after NCAA Selection Sunday
Here's where LSU women's basketball stands in the latest national championship odds following the March Madness bracket revealYahoo Sports - 19m -
New Bears DE Dayo Odeyingbo discusses playing opposite Montez Sweat
New Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo is excited to learn from Montez Sweat.Yahoo Sports - 19m -
Islanders Playoff Chase Update After Comeback Win vs. Panthers
ELMONT, NY -- The New York Islanders entered Sunday night's matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers six points back of the second wild-card spot with 18 games to go.Yahoo Sports - 22m -
🎥 All of the best bits from Newcastle's fantastic EFL Cup final win 🔥
Newcastle United ended English football's most infamous trophy drought, defeating Liverpool 2-1 to win the EFL Cup at Wembley on Sunday. And after a 70 year wait, you just knew the Toon Army would ...Yahoo Sports - 23m