Select Soccer at Columbia United FC is designed for the highest skilled player who needs to develop and compete alongside players with equally high skill, ability and commitment level. For players seeking to play on Select teams in the U13-U18 age groups, Columbia United FC will, as quality numbers permit, field as many as three or more Select teams in each age group both for boys and for girls. The first team in each age group is referred to as our Elite team. The second team in each age group is referred to as our Palmetto team. And all other teams in each age group will be referred to as our Crescent teams.

The particular Columbia United FC team to which a potential player ends up being rostered will be determined during Select team tryouts which occur in May each year. Following tryout evaluation, if it is determined by our Directors of Soccer and their Select Coaching Staff that a player’s skill set and abilities are such that he or she will benefit from involvement in the Select Soccer program at Columbia United FC, the player will be offered a roster slot on a Columbia United FC Select team appropriate for the player’s skill level, age and development needs.  In that regard, the Club’s two Directors of Soccer and their Select Coaching Staff will select the players they need to field the most competitive team in each age group and place the best 15-16 players  on a corresponding Elite team. They will then select 15-16 players they need to field the next most competitive team in that same age group and place them on the Palmetto team. And finally, they will select players from the tryout pool whom they deem are best suited for continued Select Soccer development on a Crescent team within Columbia United FC.  Selection to and placement on any one roster does not mean a player cannot advance from a Crescent level team to a Palmetto level team to an Elite level team, just as placement on a roster does not mean a player will always be slotted for a less competitive team over the course of his or her development in the program.  A main focus of the Select Soccer program at Columbia United FC is to place continued player development and continued team improvement at the forefront of team placement decisions.

Both our Elite level teams and our Palmetto level teams will typically compete in the South Carolina State Challenge Soccer League, a statewide travel league, and for teams which qualify, in the highly competitive Region III (East) Premier League. Columbia United FC teams historically has several teams who are qualified for Region III (East) Premier League play.  Teams qualify for Region III Premier League play by reaching the State Finals of the South Carolina Challenge Cup in the previous season. Teams formed at the Cescent level participate in the President’s Medal Soccer League, a statewide travel league, and if they qualify for tournament play, they then play for the South Carolina President’s Medal Cup.  However, regardless of a team’s designated name level, the Directors of Soccer and team coach will decide each season which statewide league will best serve the players’ development and decisions will be made on a team by team basis concerning in which particular league each team will participate.