NorCal Premier & COPA STC: 46 Players. One Year. The Pathway Continue.
46 players earned NorCal PDP invites through the Objective Player Pathway in year one.
Next event: August 22nd, 2026 — Boys & Girls, 2014, 2013, 2012/11.
Since launching the Objective Player Pathway in April 2025, NorCal Premier Soccer and COPA STC have run three NorCal PDP Talent ID events. Each one has reinforced the same idea: talent is everywhere — and when you give players a clear, objective way to be seen, more of the right players surface.
The most recent event, held on April 4th, 2026, added another 11 players to the prestigious PDP program. Combined with the 35 who earned invites in 2025, 46 players across this partnership have now earned their way into NorCal PDP training environments through The COPA Score — players who in many cases had never been on PDP’s radar before.
That’s not a small number. That’s a pipeline.
What’s Next: NorCal PDP Talent ID Day — August 22nd, 2026
NorCal Premier and COPA STC are proud to announce the next NorCal PDP Talent ID Day for Boys & Girls, birth years 2014, 2013, and 2012/11, taking place on Saturday, August 22nd, 2026 at COPA STC in Walnut Creek, CA.
As always, this event is invitation only — earned through The COPA Score, not through who you know or what club you play for. But through your data, objectively.
How Players Earn an Invite
The Objective Player Pathway is built on a simple premise: assess every willing player with the same standardized protocol, compare results to their relevant PDP age group, and let the data speak.
Step 1 — Take The COPA Score at COPA STC by August 18th, 2026
Players register for and complete The COPA Score at COPA STC. The assessment captures objective data across technical, physical, cognitive, and maturation-related performance using standardized protocols built from over 20,000 individual youth athlete assessments.
Any player taking The COPA Score for the first time can complete their assessment free of charge. See instructions below.
Step 2 — Review Your Results in the COPA Score Dashboard
Following the assessment, players and families receive access to their personalized COPA Score Dashboard, where results are broken down by area and percentile ranking — so players can see exactly how they performed and how they compare to their peers.
Step 3: Qualification
Players whose COPA Score meets or exceeds the 50th percentile compared to their PDP age group receive an automatic invitation. The invite is sent via email; confirmation from the player and family is required.
Step 4: Talent ID Day
Invited players compete on-field in a training and observation session led by NorCal PDP technical leaders. Standout players may earn invitations to future PDP training sessions.
Beyond the Invite: The COPA Score as a Development Tool
For many players, the value of The COPA Score extends well beyond whether or not they qualify for Talent ID Day.
The assessment gives players and families something genuinely rare: a clear, standardized, objective picture of where a player stands — technically, physically, and cognitively — benchmarked against thousands of players the same age. Progress is visible. Areas for development are specific. And over time, players can track how they’re improving across assessments, not just whether a coach thinks they looked good on a given Tuesday.
One element of the profile that NorCal PDP technical staff understand deeply is maturation — and it matters more than most families realize. Players who are early-maturing often appear more physically dominant at younger ages, which can create bias in traditional selection environments. The COPA Score captures maturation as part of a player’s full profile, giving evaluators context that pure observation can’t provide.
“We built The COPA Score to do two things: help players understand themselves as athletes, and help decision-makers see past the noise of physical development. The fact that 46 players have now earned PDP opportunities through this process — players who otherwise may never have been seen — is exactly what we set out to create.”
— Barry McCabe, Sr. Director, Talent ID, Science & Partnerships, COPA STC
Event Details – Boys & Girls NorCal Talent ID Day
📅 Date: Saturday, August 22nd, 2026 (Age group schedule assigned in invite)
👥 Eligible Birth Years: 2014, 2013, 2012/11 — Boys & Girls
🏟️ Eligibility: Players must be registered with a NorCal Premier-affiliated club. Active PDP players are not eligible for this event.
💰 Event Cost: Free (Invitation Only)
📍 Location: COPA STC, 2640 Shadelands Dr, Walnut Creek, CA 94598
Key Dates & Info
| Program | Date(s) | Details |
| Take Your COPA Score | Now through August 17th, 2026 | www.copastc.com/copascore |
| Last Day to Qualify | Monday, August 17th, 2026 | COPA Score must be completed by this date to be eligible |
| Invites Sent | Ongoing through August 19th | Sent to parent email; RSVP required |
| NorCal PDP Talent ID Day | Saturday, August 22nd | Boys & Girls, 2014, 2013, 2012/11 — Invite only. Age group schedule assigned in invite |
🔗 Register for a free COPA Score
How to Access Your Free First-Time Assessment
Any player taking The COPA Score for the first time can complete the assessment at no charge.
To redeem: email assessments.wc@copastc.com with your athlete’s full name and date of birth exactly as registered in our system. The athlete must already have a profile in our registration system. Create or log in here: COPA STC Registration System
To ensure fairness for all families, please use one profile per athlete. Creating duplicate or inaccurate profiles to bypass eligibility will result in account suspension.
About the Objective Player Pathway
Launched in April 2025, the Objective Player Pathway adds a data-driven entry point to NorCal PDP alongside traditional nominations and scouting. The COPA Score benchmarks each player across technical, physical, cognitive, and maturation factors — giving families clear, comparable standards for selection and actionable feedback for development.
More information: NorCal Premier Soccer and COPA STC Partner to Launch First Objective Player Pathway
Contact
Barry McCabe
COPA STC – Director, Talent Identification & Science
assessments.wc@copastc.com
