Portland, OR, October 19, 2011:  The Oregon Premier League is bringing innovative online training software to all OPL clubs to motivate and encourage kids to “raise their level” through a partnership with online development program iSoccer (www.isoccer.org). The pioneering program’s main objective is to empower players to take charge of their training and continue their training when team practice is over. iSoccer is a technical skill based program which assesses and evaluates 16 soccer skills and scores players on performance, with the message to players to “Know your level today so you can set goals to raise your level tomorrow."

“Basically, what we’ve done is purchase club memberships for all our clubs so there’s no barriers of entry and no excuses for our players not to go out and get better away from club trainings,” said John Bain, Executive Director of the Oregon Premier Council, which operates the OPL. “We have a standard we can hold our players to, and now iSoccer makes it extremely easy to give them activities, exercises and opportunities to train and get better on their own.”

iSoccer’s assessment offers the same objective measurement of a player’s ability, from the younger rec players to collegiate level players, making individual areas of improvement clear and concise. With over 500 videos in their library that players can download and take to the field with them, players work on improving their own score, competing against their own assessment. Each club and their DOC will have a customized club access to iSoccer.org and the assessment and development programs; clubs can add as many players and teams as they like within their iSoccer site, and coaches can create tailored custom, individually-tailored training sessions using the videos available on the site.

“The iSoccer platform offers an equal field for assessment, or in other words, the assessment is the same for everyone,” says iSoccer founder, Scott Leber. “Nearly 100,000 soccer players have already completed our assessment, recording over 500,000 results. This information has provided a base for establishing a benchmark for what we call the National Standards Assessment Project. This is the starting point, the benchmark standard for soccer players across America. iSoccer gives responsibility to the player. You can decide, you have the responsibility as the player to improve your performance. Think of iSoccer as tools to take responsibility for you own development.” 

Available to clubs since the beginning of October, many OPL clubs have already started assessing their players. Basic memberships for players are free, and players can contact their clubs for more information to sign up for this program.  iSoccer is offering OPL players a free premium membership through November 1; after that, players can sign up for premium memberships at the OPL rate of $12 per year.

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About iSoccer: iSoccer.org, the popular online training product and motivational tool for recreational and competitive soccer players. Following a series of ball tests on the field, each individual assessment is then entered online by players. The aim of iSoccer’s assessment is to provide a standard by which players can gauge their progress and coaches can pinpoint areas for technical improvement and individual progress.

About the Oregon Premier League: The Oregon Premier League began play as a U11 league in 2008, and expanded to service U10 and U12 in 2009. In the spring of 2010, the OPL announced an expansion to provide U11 – U19 leagues in the State of Oregon, with two local clubs running player development leagues at U10. The Oregon Premier League is operated by the Oregon Premier Council, which was founded in 2006 and consists of the Directors of Coaching from Eastside United FC, FC Portland, Lake Oswego SC, Southside SC, Oregon Soccer Academy, Portland City United SC, Tualatin Hill United SC and Westside Metros.