High School Soccer Rankings

Every year, hundreds of high school teams compete to find their way onto a list of national high school soccer rankings. Soccer, universally described as “the beautiful sport”, is enjoyed by millions of people worldwide. In fact, soccer is the most popular sport in the world. See who is the best of the best when it comes to high school soccer rankings.

Soccer takes an amazing amount of endurance, speed, agility, mental strength and physical strength. In order to make it on a nationally ranked team, you must possess a pretty fair amount of athleticism, as well as determination to work hard. However, soccer is also a mental game and a soccer player has to have a good mind for understanding what’s going on all over the field in addition to understanding his position.

There are essentially two organizations that attempt to nationally rank high school soccer teams. One way teams are ranked is through the Adidas National Soccer showcase. This is a 7 game, 3 day long tournament that attempts to attract high school teams from all over the nation.

The second organization that ranks teams according to scores is the NSCAA or the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The rankings are based only on what coaches turn in to the NSCAA and they are based purely on statistics without taking into account the high school team’s competition, number of games (which varies widely), or level of play.

The Adidas National Soccer Showcase is the ranking agency among high school soccer teams. It is an opportunity for high school teams across the nation to come together in order to:

• Play soccer
• Rank teams
• Practice and improve skills

The teams are divided between four divisions based on their level of play:

• Division 1: This level is for teams that are at an elite level of play. Their programs probably have good funding and they consistently go to state championships, if not win them. This is the best of the best.

• Division 2: This level is similar to Division 1, but for teams that may not have quite as much depth in their roster as Division 1 teams.

• Division 3: This level is for new teams, smaller schools or teams that are still developing.

• Division 4: This level is for junior varsity teams, the third string, and/or inexperienced freshman teams.

There are two distinct advantages to the Adidas ranking system. One advantage is that it brings together teams from all over the United States. The second advantage is that it levels the playing field by comparing teams within divisions for similar ability levels. Overall, this makes the rankings more accurate. The one big problem however, is that obviously, not every high school team can attend the Adidas National Soccer Showcase and therefore, at best the rankings are limited.

Another way that high school teams are ranked is by coaches submitting their season results to the NSCAA. The advantage that this has over the Adidas rankings is that it has the potential to be more comprehensive.

However, the NSCAA takes raw numbers for their statistics without complete consideration to division levels, strength of competition in the area and other factors. Also, there are most likely some coaches that don’t submit records at all.

Consequently, both systems are flawed in offering a complete high school ranking for soccer.

With that said, there are other, often more active soccer organizations that organize state championships and where teams and divisions are divided according to age. Because they are national organizations, they also hold state, regional and national championships.

The American Youth Soccer Organization has a nationally recognized program promoting the idea that “everyone plays.” Their teams begin at five and six years of age and continue until players reach the age of 18. You can contact the AYSO for more information on high school soccer by visiting their website.

The USYS holds a long tradition of training stellar soccer players and athletes. While they boast a variety of special programs, they hold National Championships every year for high school aged squads. You can find out more about the National Championships by visiting their website.

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