He, he, he A youth player development topic without one response (with the exception of newbie) that really relates to developing the player and the real problem in American youth soccer. Some things never change.
I'll tell you what we did. My son is a U15 now. What we've done may have been wrong, but it is what it is. When my son was U9, he was in the local club's "academy" program (NOT to be confused with 'Developmental Academy'). He just went to whatever training sessions the club had. When he joined the U10 team, he (we) got asked if he would be willing to dual roster on the U11. The U11s were faster, smarter, and stronger. He played both. He dual rostered at U11 w/the U12s. His U11 team broke up at the end of that season. He then went to another, larger, club for U12. Better skilled teammates (some from his U11 team), better competition, etc. He skipped U13 because of the age group change and at U14, the team was competing in MRL Premier. Again, tougher competition. In between the seasons, he'd do various camps (one was put on by ISL and the second year he was selected to participate in the MIC tournament in Spain. He got to play against FC Barcelona... really cool experience even if we got beat 11-1.) He's done a residential camp put on by an area college for a couple years. He's been asked to play in "Mexican Leagues" for both winter and summer. He's played in Futsal and indoor leagues. Basically, we'd hear about something (camps, leagues, pickup games, etc), and if the timing and money was available, we'd ask him if he'd want to do it. Usually the answer was "yes". As far as how to find out about things, ask coaches, ask parents, use the internet. "Soccer camps near me". "<insert area university> soccer camps". "<insert area> soccer leagues". U9 is a little young, but starting at U12 should mean he's eligible to try out for the ODP program. I don't know who it works in other states, but our ODP squads have training during the winter, and then there are cuts to determine the "team". The team then plays against other ODP programs. We keep waiting for our son to say he's done but I'm pretty sure if you ask him, he's still convinced he's going to play pro soccer.
Well, one development we can expect is players looking for a switch of field standing there with their arms up like they are 5 year olds waiting for their turn to ride the pony. There have to be players that don’t get their head up and miss the open play or player...but the number of top players in the world, including England’s Henderson in a 6-0 game ( I guess he isnt really a top player) that act like children when the ball doesn’t come their way is annoying.