Are there tryouts for Academy? No. Iowa Soccer does not allow tryouts at the Academy level. 

Are players placed on teams randomly? Yes. In the event that we have enough players to form more than one team at the U9 or U10 level, players will be randomly assigned to a team. Iowa Soccer does not allow for a "Top" team at the Academy level. Keep in mind that while the Academy program is preparing players for a Select program, it is not a Select program.

Who coaches the Academy program? The Academy program is coached by both a professional coach and volunteer parent coaches. The Indianola Soccer Tribe Academy Director is Heath Weeks. Coach Weeks is a licensed professional coach and has experience as both a player and coach at the club and high school level. 

Why do parent volunteer coaches coach the games? The Academy program is not a Select program and is designed as a potential on ramp to Select teams in the future. As such, the Academy program is overseen by a professional coach(es), but the actual coach for each team is still a parent volunteer. These volunteers will need to attend practices to help facilitate them, but the overall practices (curriculum, training plans, and scheduling) are led by the Academy Director. The Academy Director will be at each practice to run them, but with multiple teams, additional coaches will be needed to help train all Academy players. Since an Academy program has multiple teams, the director cannot coach all games, and again is why the parent volunteer coach is needed for games each weekend. This also allows for the cost to be less expensive than a Select program, which requires licensed and paid coaches for all Select teams.