• Tuesday 4:45 pm -6:00 pm  Naranja Park (Practice)
• Thursday 4:45 pm - 6:00 pm Naranja Park (Practice)
• Saturday 8:30 am - 9:30 am Naranja Park (Games)

Youth Development Academy - U4-U8

We aim to make the CDO Youth Development Academy the first step in a lifelong love of soccer!

• In the U4-U8 age groups, we now have three mini seasons each 8 weeks in lengths, allowing more players & families more flexibility in when they play!
• Each mini season includes training sessions twice a week and in-house games on weekend.

Soccer is not a 'job' for children nor should it be! Our focus continues to be on enjoyment, learning and giving all players the opportunity to play and develop their skills in a positive coaching environment.

Phoenix Rising Head Coach Rick Schantz, after seeing our program in action, described it as "light years ahead" of anything else he had seen in Tucson, and we're continually looking to improve upon it even further.

We hope that you too can see the difference with our program and what it has to offer as we continue to grow across the region.

The main objective of CDO's Youth Development Academy is to help U4-U8 players become more capable and confident on the ball, while also helping them become better decision makers. We want to help them become better at reading their environment to make better decisions, based on what happens around them, and execute these decisions with confidence (technique).

All participants are given the chance to take part in 2 weekly practice sessions and small sided games on the weekend. All sessions are designed by our YDA Director Bubba Delgado.

Players will be divided over teams for an internal 4v4 games on Saturdays. These games will be supervised by the YDA coaching staff, but we are also going to need the help of volunteer coaches. If you are interested in helping out on Saturday, please do also make sure to note this when you complete the registration for your son/daughter. 

Under Coach Bubba's guidance the player will thrive learning a positive playing philosophy and training methodology while our coaching staff create a fun, fast-paced, and safe learning environment in which players can develop their passion for the game.

All elements of the program are designed to develop players who have a close relationship with the ball, feel comfortable with it at their feet in real game situations, and are prepared to successfully make the jump to club soccer at the end of their U8 Year.

This a technically focused training program designed to prepare players for the next level of soccer.  For the 2022-23 year, this includes players born from 2018 to 2015.  Initially, all Saturday games 4v4 without a goalie however, as the year progresses, we will look to create 7v7 opportunities for our oldest players.  Games will be run under the guidance of our coaching staff. This will provide better ratios for players’ time on the ball with the idea of continuous play. Players develop quicker as they are forced into a multitude of decision-making moments in every practice and game.

Please note this is not a drop-off program.