Youth

Youth club (YCC)

Youth club is BUDA's competitive track. YCC is the Youth Club Championships, USA Ultimate's national youth tournament, and BUDA has been sending teams since the U19 era. Look at the Boston college scene today and you'll find scores of former BUDA club players leading those rosters.

Three levels

  • YCC teams — U17 and U20 rosters of about 20 players that compete at the national tournament. The highest commitment and the highest ceiling.
  • Regional teams — great coaching and high expectations, with one-day events all within about two hours' drive. For players who don't make a YCC roster, can't make its schedule, or aren't ready to want it yet.
  • Youth Club Prep — new in 2026, replacing the old regional U17 team: skill-building and committed teammates for slightly younger players preparing for regional or national teams and their high school seasons.

YCC and regional teams are USA Ultimate sanctioned, so players need a full youth USAU membership.

Tryouts

Boys' U17 and U20 tryouts run the first weekend of June, with a second look for bubble players the following weekend. Expect more than 100 players across the two rosters. U20 girls try out the same weekend. The U17 girls' team skips tryouts entirely and goes straight to practices; if more players commit than the roster holds, the rest play a full season with the regional team. Coaches are looking for competitive, coachable, and committed players; committed is the one you can control.

The season

Weekend practices run mid-June through early August, plus Wednesday-evening special-topic clinics and a handful of tournaments or matches before YCC itself in August. Plan to work on throws and conditioning on your own time; the practice hours go to team play.

How good are these teams?

In 2025, the regional "cut" U20 boys — the team made of players who didn't make the YCC roster — entered the adult Summer Club League and won the open division tournament. The YCC teams compete with the best programs in the country. The bar is real at every level.

Cost, membership, aid

Like every BUDA youth program, club teams use call-your-own-fee: pick the payment that's right for your family at registration, no questions asked. Coaches are paid (that's where fees go), and YCC financial aid deadlines are publicized each May. The USAU membership is separate; if it's a barrier, ask.