The story of the Southwest United – or SWU, as we like to call ourselves – is all about passion. It’s more than just a passion for soccer. It’s a passion for helping young athletes develop to be the best they can be, as players and as people. SWU was established in 1981. We were one of the founding members of EIYSA, the Edmonton Inter district Youth Soccer Association, which was created to offer serious youth soccer players a higher level of training and competition than the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association was providing.
SWU families can rest assured that their young soccer players are in good hands, with stable, experienced, qualified coaches who focus on individual player development in a positive team environment. Guided by the Canadian Soccer Association’s Long Term Player Development pathway, our coaching staff focuses on the four main areas of athletic development: physical, technical, tactical and mental. As a club we endorse a highly technical “possession style” of play, which has been the cornerstone of our ongoing success in league play, tournaments, provincial and even national competitions. Our crowning achievement came in 2008 when the 1990 Boys team became Canadian National Champions. More recently, our 2003 Girls won gold at the Alberta Provincial Championships in the summer of 2015.But win, lose or draw, we’re immensely proud of all our teams and all our athletes. Our players come to appreciate that it’s not just about scoring goals – its about setting goals, testing limits, working as a team and being the best they can be. It’s about training with purpose and playing with passion.
