Crew School: Vision and Purpose

The vision of Crew School is to ensure that our players have a solid foundation of knowledge both on the field and off the field. The Purpose of this Vision is to have our players fully immersed in the Academy environment while also preparing them for future endeavors, whether in soccer or beyond. We combine a focus on academic excellence, providing support and a form of accountability for the students, while also tackling complex soccer concepts and overarching life skills.

This comprehensive combination of curriculum topics, life skills, and an additional soccer element is designed with the Columbus Crew ‘One Club’ mantra in mind and with the goal to be one of the leading Educational programs in Major League Soccer.

We look forward to ensuring our players become students of the game but ‘students’ first and foremost with an emphasis on nurturing our young talented players to develop an unshakable work ethic, growth mindset, and a passion for all that they do in a top tier learning environment.

Crew School focuses on three core areas:

  1. Core Curriculum: Monitoring and management of the students’ Academic Platforms for their core subjects (Match, English, Science, History & Social Studies)
  2. Electives: Teaching basic ‘Life Skills, Wellness Practices, and Electives’ to ensure success in all walks of life
  3. Technical and Tactical Training: Coupling their rigorous training schedule with an opportunity to focus on the crucial details of the game

Program Structure:

The students enrolled in Crew School meet 3 times a week typically from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. before training in the afternoon.

Technical and Tactical training takes place twice a week for an hour per session, covering the following topics:

  1. Finishing and Varied Finishing Techniques
  2. Scanning, Movement, Space Perception
  3. Individual Duels, Innovation & Creativity, 1v1s, 2v2s
  4. Varied Passing Combinations and Passing Varieties
  5. Analysis of duels/ free movements

Taking the students beyond the experiences of the classroom and exposing them to applicable life skills, the Electives portion of Crew School covers:

  1. Life Skills – Car Mechanics, Job Applications, Mock Interviews, Survival Skills
  2. Financial Literacy – Credit Cards, Loans, Budgeting, Taxes, Rent/Mortgages
  3. Nutrition/ Wellness – Meal Planning, Meal Creation, Food Groups, Nutrition Labelling
  4. Emotional IQ/ Mindfulness – Meditation, Mental Health/Anxiety Strategies
  5. Leadership/ Team Dynamics – Group Personalities, Motivations, Team Dynamics

Educational Partners

first point

FirstPoint USA

“We are excited to be working in partnership with FirstPoint USA and enhancing our support to talented young players transitioning from our Academy to the college pathway. We are fully dedicated to an individual’s development as a player and person through our Club’s philosophy and our obligation and responsibility is to help every player achieve their potential. This partnership with FirstPoint USA will provide players who are on a college pathway more resources, support, and guidance in helping them achieve that goal. FirstPoint USA brings a wealth of experience and an impressive network of college coaches from some of the top programs in the country. We know our players will be in great hands with the FirstPoint USA staff throughout their journey.” - Academy Director Dan Lock