The USL Premier Development League has existed since 1995 as the highest amateur soccer level in the United States. The name was changed and tweaked early on but by the time the Chicago Fire entered a team into the league in 2001, it was referred to as what it is referred to today: PDL. Chicago became the first Major League Soccer team to have a PDL team thanks to support from former Fire President & General Manager Peter Wilt and the direction of current Fire Player Development Director & Consultant John Dorn.

Regularly heading a soccer ball—even just a few times a day—can lead to brain injury, according to a recent study.
Researchers used an advanced MRI-based imaging technique to scan the brains of 38 amateur soccer players then compared the images to the number of times they headed the ball during the past year.

Photos: Nicolae Stoian

When we ran a photo essay by PSP photographer Nicolae Stoian about Kensington Soccer Club's Family Day a few weeks ago, the response was, simply put, overwhelmingly positive. KSC founder Jim Hardy now talks to the PSP about how the club got started, its mission and plans for the future, why soccer is such a powerful community building tool, and what you can do to help.

Happy Friday guys. I thought I'd change it up a bit and go all Simon Borg on ya. So pretend your reading this in a loud and boistrous fashion. Growl at some point mid-sentence to keep it real. Here's your Friday rant. Enjoy!I'll never understand the mentality of so many adult amateur soccer players. It happens to nearly every athlete who doesn't make it as a pro: they love the game and join adult leagues.

While the NSC Minnesota Stars are preparing for their big match Sunday night at the NSC Stadium (7:00 pm CT kickoff) against the Puerto Rico Islanders, who are only 1 point above Minnesota in the standings, the Stars reserves team will play a special exhibition tonight, Saturday, July 16th at 6:00 pm CT.

While the NSC Minnesota Stars are preparing for their big match Sunday night at the NSC Stadium (7:00 pm CT kickoff) against the Puerto Rico Islanders who are only 1 point above Minnesota in the standings, the Stars reserves team will play a special exhibition tonight, Saturday, July 16th at 6:00 pm CT.

Once again the most fashionable pickup tournament God has ever allowed the sun to shine upon, adidas' Fanatic tournament, is set to descend on Manhattan's West Side this weekend with all of the advance warning of an F5 tornado.
I honestly love this event. Seriously. It's the city's best amateur soccer event and a staple of my ever-lightening summer social calendar but the short notice routine is waaaaay tired.

The Canadian soccer writing landscape has exploded over the last few years. It almost feels redundant to write this, but the number of Canadian soccer sources now available on the web is truly remarkable.
I don't want to get in a long-winded breakdown of the "history" of online soccer coverage in Canada, but suffice it to say, before the internet there were one or two newspaper reporters who owned the soccer beat, and even then, coverage was sparse.

The Continental League has scheduled tryouts in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs and Pueblo May 21-22.

The league expects to field some of the top names in men's amateur soccer along the Front Range.

Standout players who have played in the league include Ryan Creager, one of the most highly decorated players on the CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves team, Paul Regrutto, an assistant coach of the men's soccer team at CSU-Pueblo, and Ryan Piechowski, a senior at UC Colorado Springs.

It's on folks! Today!
If you're in the Twin Cities area, like soccer, and like free beer then you should stop by the SOB Cup. Watch some quality amateur soccer, take down a beer or two, and help "Pints for Prostrates" while you're at it.
For more information, check out Stegman's Old Boys website.

This weekend our amateur soccer club friends, the Stegman's Old Boys, are hosting their first annual SOB Cup in Minneapolis, Minnesota. One reason we like these guys? They love their beer.
The SOBs have a hilariously serious "club site" where they have a profile series drinking beer with their players and, best of all, they're sponsored by a local homebrew company, Northern Brewer.

Copa Latina continues this weekend!
The Copa Latina is South Florida's premier amateur soccer tournament with clubs participating from all over the world, including Colombia, Argentina, Haiti, El Salvador, and many other Latin American and South American nations. Below is the schedule for this weekend's upcoming matches:
DATETIMEMATCHSaturday, Feb.

The Copa Latina is here! The Copa has launched a new website and Facebook page.
Check out the press release and schedule:

Miami, FL (FEBRUARY 18, 2011) – South Florida's Copa Latina will be hosting its next ten matches of the first round this weekend with five matches each being played on Saturday and Sunday in Hialeah.

Matthew Doyle writes about College Soccer's influence on Major League Soccer.

Let's preface this whole discussion with something that's axiomatic: The rise of MLS developmental academies and, with it, professional training for young American and Canadian talent, is an unvarnished good. It is the best news since the commitment to soccer-specific stadiums.