Birmingham United Soccer Association

What the club offers

Sunday Soccer introduces ages three through five on weekend afternoons with fall and spring seasons. Intramurals serve ages six through eight with neighborhood-based practices and games; U6 and U7 groups train once weekly while U8 trains twice weekly, with volunteer parent coaches. The optional Advanced Training Program adds Wednesday-night staff-led work at Rathmell and former Sport Blast–area sites for U6–U8 players who want extra touches beyond their team.

The Academy pathway targets roughly U8 through U11 with licensed coaches and director oversight, rolling enrollment through fall and spring so new players can join after evaluation. Recreational soccer for ages about nine through nineteen runs at multiple Birmingham-area locations with volunteer coaches supported by the director staff; those teams play in the Central Alabama Soccer League in fall and spring. Competitive programming from about ages twelve through nineteen feeds Alabama State League Division 1 and Division 2 play with a full-year fall-and-spring commitment and professional coaching. The Southeastern Clubs Champions League offers another competitive route for qualifying groups. ECNL and ECNL Regional League teams serve ambitious U13 through U19 boys and girls with regional and national schedules. Summer 6v6 league play keeps older rec and competitive players active between seasons. Winter futsal, seasonal camps, college-ID style combines, and referee mentorship for ages fourteen and up round out the calendar. Through a partnership with Legion FC of the USL Championship, registered recreational players receive Legion FC Experience benefits such as Protective Stadium field access on selected match days, co-branded apparel, clinic access, discounts on club merchandise, and season tickets allocated per registered player.

Training sites and league footprint

Home training and games spread across central Alabama. Rathmell Sports Park on East Street in Birmingham anchors much of the north-side programming. Dunnavant Valley Fields along U.S. 280 host south-side sessions. Heardmont Park on Cahaba Valley Road, Forest Park in Sterrett, and numerous school and community sites—Brookwood Forest, Highlands, Mountain Brook schools, Jewish Community Center pitches, Our Lady of the Valley, Saint Francis Xavier, Chelsea Recreational Park, Bruno Montessori, and others—support age-specific small-sided and full-sided grids. Alabaster programming uses Veterans Park, municipal park grass and turf fields, Larry Simmons Stadium, and Thompson High School’s track field. A weather hotline at 205-969-8729 and text-alert tools help families check field status quickly.

Tryouts, evaluations, and registration rhythm

Annual tryouts land in mid-May for Academy evaluations and for competitive, SCCL, and ECNL rostering. Families are asked to complete tryout registration even if a player misses a session so directors can follow up on placement. Academy Manager Josh Hurst coordinates rolling Academy evaluations and enrollment questions. Competitive and ECNL questions flow to Director of Coaching Ben Parks and Assistant Director of Coaching Sean Doran. Alabaster-specific questions go to Director of Alabaster Jon Kresena at jon@alabamafc.org; Will Patridge at will@alabamafc.org also handles U13-and-under topics in that region. Registration and payment run through Blue Sombrero for many team programs and through PlayMetrics for numerous camps and combines; Sunday Soccer uses the Bonzi recreational registration path and intramural teams register in Blue Sombrero under the recreational registration option BUSA uses for those programs.

Camps and supplemental programming

Year-round camps cover technical mornings and evenings, goalkeeper and finishing blocks, spring-break weeks, winter Center of Excellence sessions, futsal indoors, pre-tryout skills work, and college-facing combines. Fees vary by length and venue: winter Center of Excellence blocks at Rathmell or Alabaster turf have been offered around one hundred twenty-five dollars, ECNL and SCCL pre-tryout skills combine evenings around one hundred dollars, a two-night Rathmell pre-tryout skills camp around one hundred ten dollars, and Alabaster pre-tryout skills nights near fifty dollars. Elite technical camps at Heardmont for U13–U19 groups have been priced near ninety dollars per two-day block, with Alabaster summer skills camps near fifty dollars for two evenings and winter small-sided camps sometimes near thirty-five dollars for a single combine-style window. Always confirm the active fee and schedule when enrolling in PlayMetrics or Blue Sombrero because sessions shift with weather and calendar year.

Philosophy and community role

Daily work centers on Empower, Enrich, Excel: building confident players, deepening knowledge for long-term success, and pushing each athlete toward their best version on and off the field. The broader mission stresses full-service access for anyone who wants to play locally or across the state, teaching accountability, determination, hard work, and sportsmanship through soccer. Partnerships extend Alabama FC programming into additional cities across the Southeast so traveling families see consistent competitive branding when they relocate between communities.

How to reach the club

Call 205-977-9038 for general club access. For Academy enrollment and evaluations, email Josh Hurst at josh@alabamafc.org. Competitive, SCCL, and ECNL placement questions after tryouts go to Ben Parks at ben@alabamafc.org and Sean Doran at sean@alabamafc.org. Alabaster programming questions go to jon@alabamafc.org, with will@alabamafc.org available for specified U13-and-under topics in that region. Youth referees interested in intramural assignments can email williamsdaj@gmail.com for mentorship details.