GUIDE · GOING PRO
How to Become a Professional Soccer Player: The Honest Path
The real US routes into the pro game for players aged 15 to 21, what coaches look at, a realistic timeline by age and a weekly plan you can run without an academy.
Take the free test →Quick answer: To become a professional soccer player in the US, you need to play at the highest level you can reach (an MLS NEXT or ECNL club, a college team, or a pre-pro summer league like USL League Two), then get in front of pro coaches through academies, the college route or open tryouts held by USL and MLS NEXT Pro clubs. Nobody can guarantee a contract. What you control is how good you get, especially your decisions, and Unscouted’s free soccer IQ test is a quick way to see where those stand.
Key takeaways
- “Pro” in the US means MLS, the USL Championship, USL League One or MLS NEXT Pro. USL League Two, NPSL and UPSL are pre-pro or amateur levels that feed them.
- Only about 5.9% of US high school boys who play soccer go on to play NCAA soccer, and 1.4% reach Division I (NCAA, 2024-25 data).
- There are several late routes: college, summer leagues and club open tryouts. The open tryouts we checked set minimum ages between 16 and 18.
- Coaches judge technique, tactical understanding, physical readiness and professionalism. Decisions are the part most solo players never train.
- You can’t control who watches. You can control a weekly routine that makes you better every month.
What counts as “professional” in the US?
A professional soccer player is someone paid to play for a club in a professional league. In the US men’s game, that means Major League Soccer (MLS), the USL Championship, USL League One or MLS NEXT Pro. Below them sit pre-professional and amateur leagues where players get noticed but mostly aren’t paid a salary.
Knowing the levels matters, because “going pro” usually means signing at one of the lower pro levels first, not walking into MLS. In most of the world the sport is called football, and the same idea applies there: most careers start a few levels down.
| Level | League | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Division I | MLS | Top US and Canada league. |
| Division II | USL Championship | Professional, granted Division II status by U.S. Soccer. |
| Division III | USL League One | Professional third tier. |
| Division III | MLS NEXT Pro | 30 teams in 2026, mostly MLS clubs’ second teams. The step between MLS NEXT and MLS first teams. |
| Pre-pro (summer) | USL League Two | 143 clubs. Built for college and emerging players, who keep their college eligibility. |
| Amateur / semi-pro | NPSL, UPSL | National amateur leagues. UPSL says it has nearly 400 clubs. |
League sizes and status were checked October 2026. USL has announced plans for a new top-flight league, USL Premier, so this table may change.
What are the real odds?
The honest answer is that the odds are small, and no official source gives an exact percentage for men’s soccer. The NCAA publishes pro odds for other sports but leaves men’s soccer out, saying there are too many professional options (it names MLS and USL) to measure it the same way.
What the NCAA does publish is the step below pro. For 2024-25:
| Step | Players | Share of HS players |
|---|---|---|
| US high school boys’ soccer | 484,908 | 100% |
| NCAA men’s soccer (all divisions) | 28,746 | 5.9% |
| NCAA Division I | n/a | 1.4% |
| NCAA Division II | n/a | 1.7% |
| NCAA Division III | n/a | 2.8% |
If fewer than 6 in 100 high school players reach college soccer, the pro game is smaller still. So set a goal you can work on (“be the best player in my league, then move up a level”) and treat a college place, a USL League Two spot or a semi-pro contract as real wins along the way.
What are the pathways to pro soccer in the US?
There are six main routes: an elite youth club or academy, high school, college, pre-pro summer leagues, open tryouts and combines, and going abroad. Most players who turn pro combine two or three, for example college, then a USL League Two summer, then an open tryout.
| Pathway | Typical ages | How you get in | Honest note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite youth club (MLS NEXT, ECNL Boys) | U13–U19 | Club tryouts | MLS NEXT had 151 clubs in 2024-25 (29 MLS academies, 122 Elite Academies). The most direct route, but hard to join late and often costly. |
| High school | 14–18 | School team | Good for games and visibility locally. On its own it rarely gets you seen by pro clubs. |
| College (NCAA D-I, D-II, D-III, NAIA, junior college) | 18–22 | Recruiting, ID camps, emailing coaches | The biggest late route in the US. Junior college can be a step up into a four-year program. |
| Pre-pro summer leagues (USL League Two, NPSL, UPSL) | 16+ (varies by club) | Club open tryouts, often $40–$45 on the pages we checked | USL League Two runs May to early August, so college players use it in summer. |
| Pro open tryouts and combines (USL Championship, USL League One, MLS NEXT Pro) | 16+ to 25, depends on club | Pay to register on the club’s official site | Usually one day, mostly matches. Top players get invited to a combine or preseason. |
| Going abroad | 18+ | Trials arranged with clubs | FIFA rules only allow international transfers after 18, with narrow exceptions. Beware of paid “European trial” offers. |
For the details on ID camps, emailing college coaches and highlight videos, see our guide on how to get scouted for soccer. For what happens on a tryout day, see pro soccer tryouts.
How do you become a professional footballer in the UK?
In the UK the main route is a club academy, then a two-year scholarship at 16 and a first professional contract around 18. If you’re not in an academy, the late route is non-league football: play at the highest step you can, get seen by clubs above you and move up the pyramid. Professional clubs scout non-league regularly.
- Academies: English academies are graded by category under the Elite Player Performance Plan, and most recruit young. Top academies usually don’t run open trials.
- Non-league: the National League System sits below the four professional divisions. Open trials at local non-league clubs are the realistic door for players aged 16 and over.
- University and college: some players combine study with high-level football, in the UK or on a US college scholarship.
For trials, CVs and how to contact clubs, see our guide on how to get scouted for soccer, which covers both the UK and the US.
What do coaches and scouts look at?
Pro coaches judge four things: technical ability, tactical understanding, physical readiness and professionalism. Brooklyn FC, a USL Championship club, listed exactly those four for its 2026 open tryout. Tactical understanding is mostly decisions: where you move, when you pass and what you see before the ball arrives.
- Technical: first touch under pressure, passing with both feet, striking the ball cleanly. Not tricks.
- Tactical: scanning before you receive, choosing the forward option when it’s on, and where you stand without the ball.
- Physical: can you repeat sprints in the 80th minute as well as the 10th?
- Professionalism: on time, ready, coachable, no sulking after mistakes.
Most players train technique and fitness alone and hope the tactical side appears in games. Our guide to decision-making training shows how to work on it by yourself.
How do you train, eat and recover like a pro?
Pros treat recovery as training. The basics are simple: build fitness that lets you repeat sprints late in games, get stronger as your body allows, eat regular balanced meals with enough energy for training, drink enough, and sleep. Health guidelines from the CDC and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night for 13 to 18 year olds.
| Area | What pros focus on | What you can do now |
|---|---|---|
| Fitness | Repeated sprints, endurance, quick changes of direction | Short sprint sessions and small-sided games, not long slow runs only |
| Strength | Strength for duels and injury prevention | Bodyweight work, then supervised gym work as you grow |
| Nutrition | Enough energy and protein to train and recover | Regular meals, a proper meal after training, water through the day |
| Sleep | Consistent sleep, especially before games | Same bedtime most nights, screens off before sleep |
| Recovery | Lighter days after games, managing training load | Rest days in your plan, and tell your coach when something hurts |
If you’re growing fast or keep getting the same injury, talk to a physio or doctor before adding training. For a full week that balances all of this, see our soccer training plan.
How do you build the mental side?
The mental side decides who keeps improving after setbacks. Every player who turns pro has been dropped, rejected or injured along the way. What separates them is how they respond: focusing on what they control, learning from mistakes quickly, and staying coachable when feedback is hard to hear.
- Control the controllables. You can’t choose who watches. You can choose your effort, your preparation and your next action after a mistake.
- Have a reset routine. After a mistake: one breath, one word to yourself, then find your next job on the pitch.
- Treat rejection as information. After a failed trial, ask what to improve, write it down and make it your next 12-week target.
- Be coachable. Coaches talk about attitude as much as ability. Listening, trying the change and asking questions is visible from the touchline.
- Keep a life outside football. School, friends and other interests make pressure easier to handle, and give you a plan B you’ll be glad of either way.
What is a realistic timeline from 15 to 21?
A realistic timeline is: build your base and get into the best team you can at 15–16, get visible to college and pre-pro clubs at 17–18, and test yourself at open tryouts and summer leagues at 18–21. It’s later than the academy route but still workable, as long as you keep moving up a level each year.
| Age | Main goal | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Get into the best team you can | Try out for the highest club level near you (MLS NEXT, ECNL or the next league down). Start a weekly solo routine. Film one full game a month. |
| 16 | Prove you can hold a place | Be a regular starter. Fix your biggest weakness. Some USL League Two and USL Championship open tryouts accept players from 16 (under-18s may need a parent’s waiver). |
| 17 | Get visible | Highlight video plus one full half. College ID camps at schools that fit your level. Email coaches yourself. |
| 18 | Step up to adult soccer | College, junior college or a gap year with a UPSL or NPSL team. Some pro open tryouts are 18+. |
| 19–20 | Play against men | USL League Two in summer if you’re in college. One or two pro open tryouts a year, picked carefully. |
| 21 | Honest review | Are you a standout at your level? If yes, keep pushing tryouts and combines. If not, college soccer, semi-pro and coaching are real careers in the game. |
Who made it without a top academy?
Some players do reach the top through late routes, but they are rare exceptions, not a plan. What they have in common is that they kept playing at a level where they could be seen, and kept getting better while they waited.
| Player | Route | The lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Jamie Vardy | Released by Sheffield Wednesday at 16, rebuilt his career in non-league with Stocksbridge Park Steels and Fleetwood Town, then joined Leicester City and won the Premier League in 2016 | A release at 16 isn’t the end if you keep playing where clubs watch |
| Ian Wright | Spotted by Crystal Palace scouts at non-league Greenwich Borough in 1985 and signed his first pro contract at 21 | Non-league football is watched, even for players in their 20s |
| Clint Dempsey | Played four seasons of college soccer at Furman University, then was the 8th pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft by New England Revolution | College is a real route into US pro soccer |
How to become a professional soccer player: 7 steps
If you’re asking “how do I become a professional soccer player” without an academy behind you, these seven steps are the plan. They don’t promise a contract, but they put you where pro coaches already look.
- Find your true level. Film a full game and rate yourself honestly on scanning, decisions, first touch, off-ball movement, defending and effort. Take the free soccer IQ test as a baseline for decisions.
- Get into the highest team you can hold a place in. A regular starter at a higher level is more visible than a star at a lower one.
- Train your weakest area every week. One clear target at a time, for example “scan twice before every receive”, measured in games.
- Study your position. Watch one pro in your role each week, mostly off the ball.
- Make yourself easy to judge. A 3 to 5 minute highlight video, one full half, and your details on the first screen.
- Choose your route. College recruiting, a summer league, open tryouts or a mix. Check every event on the club’s official website.
- Review every 12 weeks. Compare your new film with the old. If nothing changed, change the plan before you change the video.
Get the full plan, not just the outline
The Basics Kit has 10 guides on analysing a player, a game, a team and yourself, plus a training system, a 12-week plan, worksheets and the mental side. Built for players training on their own.
What can you do each week without an academy?
Without an academy, you build your own week: team training and games stay the base, then you add two short solo technical sessions, one decision-making session, one match-analysis session and proper recovery. About 3 to 4 extra hours a week is enough if every session has a clear target.
| Day | Session | Time | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Recovery and review | 30 min | Watch your own game clips. Write 1 thing that worked, 1 to fix. |
| Tue | Team training | Team | Practise your weekly target in every drill. |
| Wed | Solo technical | 45 min | First touch on the half-turn, weak-foot passing against a wall, scanning before each touch. |
| Thu | Team training | Team | Same target. Ask your coach for one piece of feedback. |
| Fri | Decisions | 20–30 min | Freeze-frame match situations: what’s the best option and why? Then check a pro’s answer. |
| Sat | Match | Game | Film it if you can. Count your scans and forward passes. |
| Sun | Rest or pro game | 90 min | Watch a pro in your position for one half, ball-off only. See how to analyse a match as a player. |
Honest caveat: extra hours don’t help if you’re already tired or injured. Rest is part of the plan, not a break from it. If you’re growing fast, talk to your coach or a physio before adding load.
What mistakes stop players from going pro?
Most players don’t fail because of one bad trial. They stall because of habits that stop them improving or being seen. These are the most common ones we see in players training without an academy, and each one is fixable.
- Staying at a level that’s too easy. Being the best player in a weak team feels good and teaches you little. Move up when you can hold a place.
- Training only technique. Juggling and cone drills don’t train decisions. Add scanning and match situations, like our free soccer IQ test and scanning test.
- Never watching your own game. Without film or honest review, you repeat the same mistakes for years.
- Paying for “guaranteed” trials. Real clubs don’t charge for trials, and real agents don’t take fees up front.
- Skipping recovery. Training through pain and sleeping too little lead to injuries that cost months.
- Waiting to be found. Make a short video, a one-page CV and contact coaches yourself.
- Dropping school. Grades keep the college route open, and an education protects you if football doesn’t work out.
For the skills behind the first two, see our guides on soccer IQ training and how to scan in soccer, and the guides for your position: striker, winger, number 10 or center back.
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FAQ
How do I become a professional soccer player if I’m not in an academy?
Play at the highest level you can hold a place in, train your weaknesses every week, and use the late routes: college soccer, summer leagues like USL League Two, and open tryouts that USL and MLS NEXT Pro clubs advertise on their own websites. Nobody can guarantee a contract.
Is 18 or 21 too late to become a professional soccer player?
It’s late compared with the academy route, but not closed. The pro and pre-pro open tryouts we checked set minimum ages between 16 and 18, and one MLS NEXT Pro tryout we checked was for ages 18 to 25. The later you start, the more you need to stand out at your current level first.
What percentage of soccer players go pro?
No official figure exists for US men’s soccer. The NCAA leaves soccer out of its pro odds because of the many pro options, but its 2024-25 data shows only 5.9% of high school boys’ soccer players reach NCAA soccer and 1.4% reach Division I.
Do you have to go to college to become a pro soccer player?
No. Some players sign from academies, MLS NEXT Pro teams or open tryouts. But college is the biggest late route in the US, and it gives you a degree if soccer doesn’t work out.
How much do pro soccer tryouts cost?
On the official club pages we checked in October 2026, fees ranged from $40 for a USL League Two tryout to $225 for an MLS NEXT Pro tryout. Always register through the club’s own website.
Can I go to Europe to become a professional soccer player?
FIFA rules only allow international transfers of players over 18, with narrow exceptions such as your parents moving abroad for non-football reasons. Be very careful with paid “European trial” offers from agents.
What skills do you need to be a professional soccer player?
Clubs judge technical ability, tactical understanding, physical readiness and professionalism. Good decisions under pressure, like scanning and choosing the forward pass, often separate players who look similar in drills.
Do you need an agent to become a professional soccer player?
Not to get noticed. Agents matter when a contract is on the table, and a real agent is paid when a deal happens, not up front. FIFA’s rules also limit when agents can approach players under 18 and require a parent or guardian to sign any agreement.
Can you skip school and still become a professional soccer player?
You can, but it’s a big risk. Grades keep the college route open in the US, academies and scholarships in the UK usually include education, and most players who chase a pro career end up needing a plan B. Keep both doors open as long as you can.
How long does it take to become a professional soccer player?
There’s no set time. Academy players usually sign a first pro contract around 17 to 19. Late routes through college, non-league or summer leagues often take until the early twenties. What matters is improving every season and moving up a level.
How much do professional soccer players train?
Pro teams usually train most days of the week, with on-pitch sessions plus gym, recovery and video work, and lighter days around matches. As a young player, the goal is consistent training with enough rest, not the most hours.
Sources (checked October 2026): NCAA, Probability of Competing Beyond High School (2024-25) · USL Championship, About (Division II status) · MLS NEXT Pro, About · MLS NEXT, About · USL League Two (via USL Soccer) · UPSL · Wikipedia, United States soccer league system · Brooklyn FC, 2026 open tryout · Sacramento Republic FC, open tryouts · San Jose Earthquakes, MLS NEXT Pro tryout · Snohomish United, USL League Two tryouts · Non-League Football Paper, Jamie Vardy · Premier League, Ian Wright · 2004 SuperDraft, Clint Dempsey · FIFA RSTP Article 19 (via The FA)