Dear Idaho Youth Soccer Association Members,
With the 2025 fall season now closed, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on the past six months for the Idaho Youth Soccer Association and share exciting updates about what lies ahead.
Over the last six months, our staff has had a very busy and rewarding season, proudly hosting both the Regional Championships and the Presidents Cup on behalf of US Youth Soccer (USYS). Looking ahead, there is an important format change for the 2026 Regional Championships — teams that win our Idaho State Cup will now automatically advance to the USYS National Championships, creating a direct and exciting pathway from state competition to the national stage. In addition, Idaho has secured the bid to host the 2026 Presidents Cup, where we will welcome teams from Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska to compete at the Simplot Sports Complex from June 19–22, 2026. This represents a tremendous opportunity to showcase our state, our facilities, and our soccer community on a regional level.
We also successfully hosted our inaugural Air Pitch 3v3 Tournament, which saw 70 teams take the field. This was a major milestone event for Air Pitch and our association, and we are already looking forward to making it even bigger and better during the next preseason.
This fall, our league play was a tremendous success. The District 3 League saw 207 teams compete across various levels of competition, while 95 teams participated in our recreational league. We are excited to see continued growth in participation across all levels.
To cap off the season, a record 229 teams competed in the Gem State Challenge, with strong representation from clubs across Idaho and out of state. The level of competition and sportsmanship on display was outstanding, and we anticipate these numbers will continue to grow heading into 2026.
As we look ahead to 2026, we are actively exploring ways to elevate competition at every level — from grassroots recreational play to elite programming. This includes strengthening collaboration between leagues across Idaho as well as building partnerships with national organizations. Our focus will always remain on doing what is in the best interest of the players in our state.
For the 2025/26 season, we made a strategic decision to revamp our Olympic Development Program (ODP). As part of this effort, we launched three Regional Training Centers in North, East, and Southwest Idaho, and we are proud to report a 300% increase in player participation. We were also proud to be officially recognized and sanctioned by U.S. Soccer as part of the nation’s elite player development pathway, establishing ODP as a year-round talent development program in Idaho.
We are also excited to announce new uniform partnerships with Hummel and Tursi Soccer, providing high-quality apparel and professional support for our programs.
Our ODP teams will compete in several events throughout the year. The first major event took place in November, when we hosted a series of friendlies with the Montana Youth Soccer Association, welcoming their teams to Boise for three days of matches and training sessions. We plan to build on the success of this weekend and invite additional neighboring states to participate in 2026. In December, our younger ODP teams will travel to Las Vegas to compete in the Champions Cup, continuing their development against top competition.
While we are always striving for improvement, we know this year has provided the strong foundation of change that our program needed.
Finally, I want to extend a sincere thank you to all clubs, directors, coaches, players, and parents for being part of our programs and for your continued dedication to youth soccer in Idaho. Your support and commitment are what make this organization successful.
We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a joyful holiday season. We look forward to an exciting and successful 2026 season.
IYSA Staff