The Lexington Player Development Academy (LPDA) was established in the fall of 2008 to offer enthusiastic Lexington United Soccer players the opportunity to get top professional training and a high level of team play often associated with ‘club’ teams, but at a reduced cost and without the long commute to practice. After a decade of successfully meeting this mission, and with the club soccer landscape evolving, the LPDA has joined in a partnership with the Boston Bolts for the 2018 season and beyond. The Boston Bolts have a long tradition of excellence, with a player development focus, which made it an ideal partner as the LPDA continues to evolve and search for the best development paths for our Lexington players. The LPDA Bolts is available only to a limited number of the most committed and talented soccer players in Lexington. The LPDA Bolts is directed by LUSC Director of Coaching, Brendan Donahue.
In the fall and spring LPDA Bolts teams practice twice a week in Lexington and play matches on Sundays. All LPDA Bolts teams play in the NEP (New England Premiership). In the winter LPDA Bolts teams have 10 indoor training sessions and participate in one season of futsal.
What is the LPDA Bolts?
The LPDA Bolts is a player development academy. The entire focus of the coaching staff is to train players to play the game of soccer at a high level while promoting development and enjoyment. Players commit to LPDA Bolts for the entire school year. LPDA Bolts fields seven teams: BU11, GU12, BU12, GU14, BU14, BU17 & GU18
Why the LPDA Bolts?
- Provide supplemental, expert training under professional supervision for the serious player.
- Provide Lexington families with a local, less c
ostly, developmentally appropriate alternative to “Club Soccer”. - Continue to develop Lexington players within our soccer community.
Who is eligible for the LPDA?
For the U14 and below teams, all players registered with LUSC Travel Soccer are eligible. Note that the LPDA Bolts is a supplement to, and not a replacement for, LUSC Travel Soccer. Academy players are expected to play with their travel team on Saturdays and attend regular team practices. The Academy announces their training night at the time of the program’s launching so LUSC coaches with academy players can schedule their practices on a different night. For the high school aged LPDA Bolts teams, it is not expected that Academy players play with a travel team.
How do I get my child involved?
Tryouts are in early June. See the home page for dates and times.
How are LPDA Bolts teams formed?
The LPDA Bolts is a select team. Players are chosen through a tryout session and through invitation. Player selection is based on a number of criteria: ability, potential, commitment level, and coachability.
The coach of each particular LPDA Bolts team has the final say on selecting the roster for the coming year. There is input from the DOC, ADOC and professional evaluators, but the final team is selected by the coach.
Does my child need to be a 1st team travel player to make the LPDA Bolts?
No. There have been many cases where players outside of the first team are selected into the LPDA Bolts program. There have also been several times a first team player has not received an offer to participate in the program.
Does the LPDA Bolts extend pre-offers? If so, why?
A limited number of players may receive an invitation to join the LPDA Bolts in advance of tryouts. These offers are only extended when a coach is 100% sure that the player would be offered a position at the tryout. A deadline to accept a pre-offer is given prior to the tryout date so the coach can focus on the remaining players attending the tryout to make final roster selections. This is a common practice in club soccer.
Why does the LPDA Bolts not field “B” teams?
There are two major factors for not offering multiple LPDA Bolts teams in a particular age group.
- We don’t want to dilute the product both with regards to the LPDA Bolts and with LUSC. All of our LPDA Bolts coaches also serve as LUSC pro coaches, so when LUSC starts adding more LPDA Bolts commitments to their plate, we naturally have to sacrifice some of their LUSC commitments.
- Winter space. More LPDA Bolts teams means more gym time that we need to secure and that is very difficult given the demand for indoor space in the winter. It’s important to LUSC that we continue to offer clinics for all of our LUSC families throughout the winter and when we add LPDA Bolts teams it can make this a difficult balancing act.
Does the LPDA Bolts have practice players? If so, why?
Yes. In an effort to maintain a larger player pool without creating a game day roster that is too large it is typical for LPDA Bolts teams to carry 2 to 4 practice players per team. Practice players participate in all training sessions but do not play Sunday matches in the fall and spring. Practice players do play in winter futsal matches.
LPDA Bolts schedule
Fall:
- 18 to 20 training sessions.
- Approximately 9 Sunday games.
- Note: High school aged teams do not play in the fall, due to school soccer.
Winter:
- Approximately 10 training sessions.
- One indoor session of futsal (non-boarded) soccer, approximately 7 games.
Spring:
- 16-18 training sessions.
- Approximately 8 Sunday games.
- One tournament (Memorial Day weekend).
Additional single day tournament options (not included in the cost) may be added at the coaches’ discretion.
LPDA Bolts Kit:
2 game jerseys- 1 pair of game shorts
- 2 pair of socks
- Kit available at:
The Costs (subject to change)
The LPDA Bolts cost does not include registration for the LUSC travel program. The following costs are for the full year. For U14 and below:
- Regular players: $1,125
- Practice players: $950
For high school aged teams:
- $950
Note: Spring opt-out. At the coach’s discretion, there are a limited number of slots for players who want to play fall and winter only.
The 2018-2019 LPDA Bolts Coaches (Coaching Bios):
GU11-12 – Tom Heimreid
GU13-14 – Miguel Chavez
GU18 – TBD
BU11 – Miguel Chavez
BU12 – Tom Heimreid
BU13-14 –Brendan Donahue
BU17 – Thomas Ballenthin
