Since Director Chris Gaspar has brought The Escola Academy to the southern CA area in 2009, many youth and families have benefited and began to appreciate proper training and soccer development that has not been seen in the area. This is due to the approach and Portuguese methodology that Chris has brought to share from his years of professional experience through playing, training, and teaching players of all ages and skill levels.
For 32 years, The Escola Academy has been successful in teaching and developing countless players across the country (with many great, well-qualified former professional players, coaches, and trainers that helped along the way) and the same impact has taken shape here in southern CA.
The next, logical step is one that involves developing an Escola Academy Program that allows for teams & developmental groups of various ages and skill levels to form- thus helping players that are training and have trained under The Escola Academy to continue to develop their individual skills and understanding of the game through the guidance of The Escola Academy. This approach has been welcomed by many families in surrounding communities, as a great alternative to the typical recreational soccer option or local soccer clubs, that simply don’t have a players’ best interest in mind when it comes to individual player development and progression.
This philosophy and direction is not accomplished overnight and is a long-term plan, organized carefully with a player’s best interest for development in mind. The Escola Academy’s Plan and Philosophy has been working for the last 32 years, with great players and teams’ success stories that ARE NOT MATCHED by any other coaches, teams, or soccer clubs in this area. This is due to families and players’ commitment to skill development as the priority, rather than game results. The Escola Academy has always viewed winning as a secondary goal, especially for young players, through their formative years of around 15 years old, still developing their skills and knowledge of the game.
The Escola Academy’s Teams are a direct result of the long-term goals and philosophy that many families realize play a more influential direction than that of local soccer clubs in the Redlands area, who only focus on goals of winning and not player skill development, as The Escola Academy does. As The Escola Academy’s main goal is and always will be player development (a European-based Academy approach, Portuguese soccer philosophy), the door to The Escola Academy is always open for families and players to evaluate how their soccer-development progression has gone thus far, while outside of The Escola Academy. We are always interested in helping families become more informed and educated about how their child has progressed through their current soccer environment, no matter current club or team affiliation.
In addition to the numerous Escola Academy Developmental Soccer Programs for Players & Teams that operate on a yearly basis for youth ages 3-18 years old, The Escola Academy offers multiple opportunities throughout the year with several seasonal Soccer Clinics, FREE Soccer Clinics, and additional community outreach programs in the Inland Empire area for interested families.
