Portland Timbers

About the Club

The Portland Timbers Academy is a youth soccer program that focuses on developing elite players with the potential to join the Portland Timbers Major League Soccer team as Homegrown players. They aim to create an effective learning environment for professional player development. The Academy is part of MLS NEXT, a youth soccer league in the United States and Canada managed by Major League Soccer. MLS NEXT provides high-level competition and development opportunities for players. The Timbers Academy utilizes a holistic approach to talent identification and promotion, guided by their "Building Blocks of Timber Development": Independent, Expertise, and Experience. They have various programs to identify and develop young players, including the Regional Training Centers (RTC) for players aged 8-12, which focus on technique, and the Discovery Program (DP) for promising prospects aged 12-14, with the goal of identifying players for the MLS Timbers Academy teams. The Discovery Program has been a successful route into the Academy. The Academy fields teams in MLS NEXT at the U15, U16, and U18 age groups, with full funding for year-round programming. They also offer a Residency Program for talented players from outside the Portland area.