What are the different leagues?

Club soccer has a lot of league names. Here is what each one is. Most clubs have teams in more than one, so a club's teams at the same age may play in different leagues.

State leagues

• RCL (Regional Club League) is run by Washington Youth Soccer, for clubs across the state. Each age has divisions — 1, 2 and 3.
• WPL (Washington Premier League) is the other state league, with its own divisions, including Classic and Copa. It also runs a league for U8–U10.

National leagues

• ECNL (Elite Clubs National League) has boys and girls teams. Pre-ECNL is its league for U11–U12, and the ECNL Regional League (ECNL RL) is its regional league.
• MLS NEXT is the boys' league run by Major League Soccer. The Washington teams we follow play in its Academy Division.
• Elite Academy (EA) is a national boys league, with national events and qualifiers.
• Girls Academy (GA) is a national girls league. It also runs GA Aspire.

Not a league

• ODP (Olympic Development Program) picks players for state and regional teams. A player tries out for it on top of playing for a club.

Joining a team

A club decides which leagues its teams play in, so a player joins a league by joining a club's team in it. Clubs hold tryouts for next season, usually in spring.

The right team is one where a player gets real minutes and close games.

Every league's schedule and table is under Events.