The teams are in Nashville. They’re in Las Vegas, Miami and Hawaii. They’re in Brooklyn, Silicon Valley and Delaware. 

For over 40 years, ALBION SC has built a national club empire, expanding from a small club in San Diego to a strong network of 15 National Affiliates and growing, touching all corners of the US club soccer scene. Today, ALBION is more than just a badge and a uniform, the symbol unifies all clubs, teams, and players and symbolizes the uniformity and professionalism of the club. For its National Affiliate clubs, ALBION has become a major brand recognition for the market, a leading recruiting tool, a player development haven, and a way to be seen in the national spotlight. 

“We are player development-centric,” Gins said. “This means all decisions lead to making decisions on what best supports players and their quest to be the best. Naturally, we hire the best coaches, build the best curriculum and create the best infrastructure to support players and their development.” 

Growing to a National Powerhouse affiliate network wasn't necessarily CEO Noah Gins’ vision from day one. An experienced college and professional player — who played eight professional seasons in the A League with a four-year professional contract in San Diego — Gins took over ALBION in 1999. At the time, the club only had six teams, all of which were based in San Diego — the very definition of a small-time club. But in such a tight environment, Gins had the freedom to piece the club together. He emphasized player development, built the right coaching staff, and a new ALBION soccer curriculum, and began attracting the best of the best local talent. In the soccer-rich pitches of Southern California, Gins steadily built a regional powerhouse. The club soon reached the National Championship in just a short six year period, and from then on played in a National Championship every year for 13 straight years. Winning three National Championships in the last four years, ALBION always maintained uniquely competitive in a very saturated club environment. 

Over time, the higher levels of the sport started to take notice. ALBION’s best players were receiving attention from college and youth national teams, and by 2011, the club was recognized as one of the best 30 in the Nation (according to Soccer America) and had teams ranked No. 1 in the Nation by TopDrawerSoccer.

“A lot of the success wasn't necessarily defined early on. It was a product of doing things in a very specific, very intentional way and in a very right way,” Gins said. “We always say there is one way to do things, and that is the right way.” And while clubs around ALBION kept doing what they did, Gins alongside his leadership team and coaching staff kept things simple and pure to what was intended. Player-centric, player development, and true, passionate care for the people in the organization. 

The expansion soon took off, initially with ALBION’s organic growth around the country, generated by leaders and clubs who wanted to utilize the ALBION brand. The brand began developing strategic relationships, forming affiliate clubs in markets across the nation. ALBION chose from those who demonstrated intentions and aims that aligned with the club, ranging from established clubs who wanted more brand recognition and back office support, to small organizations who needed a top-to-bottom level of support, as well as a full coaching curriculum to expand in markets with massive growth potential. 

“It has always been humbling for me to have a club that wants to become ALBION and represent the long history of player development and at the same time it's very exciting because I know what we will be able to do immediately for the club and the leaders who are part of it,” Gins said. 

Cutler Ridge SC, a long-standing Miami-based club for over 50 years, wasn’t a dominant club in the Miami soccer scene, to begin with. The South Florida area has always been competitive, and the club was losing players due to its inability to fully support players at all levels with opportunities. The club didn’t necessarily lack talent, nor was it in need of local participation; Cutler Ridge simply couldn’t offer its best players more. 

So, when Gins and Technical Director Graeme Griffith started a dialogue, things moved quickly. Griffith already liked the total ALBION methods and curriculum — making things official was the next step in making his club more competitive in the Florida area.

“We're definitely looking at in the next couple of years being the dominant force in South Florida. And Florida overall,” Griffith said. “Just having that [ALBION] name where people can come and know they're gonna get an advantage. They're going to have structure, high-level coaching, player pathway, and as a result, players are going get better.” 

Inspirada FC was a very small club of just six teams based out of Las Vegas and was looking to make some noise in the Las Vegas youth scene when it became ALBION SC back in 2017. The story was a familiar one for a number of youth organizations: the team had the talent, players, and coaching to get to the top, but lacked a thorough model to truly develop its best. Five years later, the club has become one of the most organized clubs in Las Vegas and the state of Nevada. ALBION SC Las Vegas is a major player in the Nevada scene, was accepted into the US Development Academy in year 2 of becoming ALBION, and is now part of the MLS Next, EA, GA, and DPL with over 60 teams, the largest recreational program and a prestigious tournament all of which was part of the strategic plan in becoming ALBION. For Wayne Attard, ALBION Las Vegas’ Boys Director of Coaching, getting into those spaces has been invaluable. The club has now grown as a result, with 27 boys teams competing at some of the highest levels of youth soccer. “Getting the right people on board has helped me make a strong team of coaches. We were then able to recruit more, and see the best coaching, and get the best players,” Attard said. 

And for others, it’s just a sense of perfect timing. ALBION SC Nashville doesn’t feature in a massive soccer market — until recently there were very few pathways to pro opportunities in the state. But now, as MLS’ Nashville SC embeds its roots in the local area, ALBION Nashville is well positioned to utilize the network in the local area and statewide. “I love the product [Gins] has put out over the years,” Brent Goulet, Technical Director of ALBION Nashville, said. “Hopefully, we can continue that excellence with our teaching, and become the model club in the market within a few years." 

The ALBION badge was perhaps even more vital in Hawaii, USA. Maui United was one of the island’s premier clubs, with connections across the United States thanks to the network of Technical Director Brent Nunes. Every year, Nunes would take a few teams to ALBION’s showcase in San Diego. It was there that Nunes and Gins got talking, sharing similar ideas on coaching methods and leadership, Nunes said. So, when the opportunity arose to join the ALBION network, Nunes jumped on board.

“ALBION standards and their commitment to player development and opportunities allowed us to help facilitate what our kids need here,” Nunes said. 

The networks have also started to thrive on the girls’ side of things. ALBION has two teams in the recently formed Girls Academy league, and its U16 San Diego side won a GA Championship in the 2021-22 season — a definite sign of things to come. And for GA Commissioner Lesle Gallimore, such success is far from a surprise.

“At the end of the day, Gins is about the positive growth of the game for the boys and the girls,” Gallimore said. “We really try to collaborate on things we think are good for the game.” 

So, ALBION functions in different ways for different clubs. For some, it’s a chance to expand in a bigger market. For others, it’s a way to start the vital stages of player development that breeds the next generation of American talent. ALBION SC as a club reaches for wider goals overall. Gins talks of international growth, an awareness on the global scale to be part of truly developing players from the US to some of the biggest clubs in the world, and continuing to impact the game of soccer through helping clubs, leaders, teams, and players pursue their very best. After 20-plus years of methodically building what is now here for the world to see, it’s time to now really take things to the next level.

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