Youth Developmental League and Rising Stars

The Youth Developmental League (YDL) welcomes players from about age 2½ through 18 with no tryouts and no pressure—just community soccer built around fun, teamwork, and skill growth. Rising Stars (ages 3–4) is a parent-involved first step focused on agility, balance, and coordination. Ages 5–6 play 4v4 coed with one weekday practice and weekend games led by volunteer coaches supported by Rising staff. Older YDL bands split by gender at 7–8, 9–11, 11–13, and 13+, each designed to prepare players for Academy or competitive tracks while keeping recreational commitment manageable—typically one weeknight practice and Saturday games over a 7–8 week fall (September–October) or spring (March–May) season.

YDL fields span Natural Steps in west Little Rock, Murray Park in east Little Rock, and Maumelle in the north. Registration opens in July for fall and November for spring. Optional private training with Rising staff supplements volunteer-led sessions.

Rising Academy

Rising Academy targets U9 and U10 players (teams formed from coaching assessments rather than open tryouts; younger birth years need an evaluation arranged through LukeLines@arkansasrising.org). The 12-week program includes three training sessions weekly—two team sessions at home locations plus a Thursday full-Academy session where players train in stronger developmental groups across Murray Park, Natural Steps, and Maumelle. Saturday games run through Central Academy League with licensed, paid coaches; each season includes 7–10 league games and one local tournament. Full-year registration is $820 with payment plans available, covering registration, referees, insurance, coaching, and the tournament.

Competitive teams and ECNL Regional League

Competitive tryouts for 2026–27 run in May at Burns Park Soccer Complex (1 Soccer Avenue, North Little Rock): U11–U14 May 18–22 and U15–U18 May 26–29, with evening sessions and a $10 registration fee that includes a tryout shirt supporting the Player Scholarship Fund. Families register through PlayMetrics; coaches evaluate across multiple days before tiered team placement, with status updates about seven days after the final session.

Arkansas Rising is the only Central Arkansas club offering ECNL Regional League (ECNL-RL) pathways for both genders. Girls Pre-ECNL (U11–U12) competes in the North Texas Conference as a feeder toward ECNL-RL teams in the Texas Conference; top girls squads U11–U19 train three times weekly at Maumelle or Burns Park, attend 1–2 national showcase events, and compete for postseason advancement to ECNL RL Finals. Boys ECNL-RL teams U11–U19 train three times weekly at Rolling Oaks or Burns Park, compete in the Frontier Conference, and attend national showcases at U17 and U19. The club reports 32 Arkansas State Cup titles, 11 USSF-level coaches, and a track record of college-bound athletes.

How families register and reach the club

Recreational and Academy sign-ups, competitive tryouts, and ECNL intent-to-play all flow through PlayMetrics parent accounts. General program questions go to Questions@arkansasrising.org; tryout and competitive placement questions can go to Executive Director Brandon Hom (brandonhom@arkansasrising.org) or Director of Coaching Ryan Smith (RyanSmith@arkansasrising.org). The club office at 16603 Cantrell Road, Suite 4, Little Rock, AR 72223 is open Monday–Thursday, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., and general correspondence uses arkanasrisingsc@gmail.com.