Flagship Showcase · Las Vegas
The single most important week in the US college football scholarship calendar. Hundreds of coaches from every division descend on Las Vegas to scout U19 boys and girls face to face. If you want to be seen, this is where you need to be — and Stride USA takes a squad there every year.
Why the showcase matters
For a US football scholarship, nothing beats being seen in the flesh. Coaches can read a highlight reel, but they offer after watching a player live — under pressure, over ninety minutes, against real opponents. The Mayor's Cup is built for exactly that: it pulls hundreds of coaches from NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA and junior college into one city, in one week, to do their recruiting in person.
Film gets an athlete onto a coach's list. The showcase gets them off the list and into a conversation. The U19 brackets are the most heavily scouted of all — the age group colleges are actively recruiting for next season — which makes this, for a U19 boy or girl chasing a US scholarship, the single most valuable week of the year.
Since 2004, what began as a 24-team local event has grown into a globally respected showcase drawing teams from 40+ states and 30+ countries. Our team travels with the squad, sits with the coaches, and follow up the moment the final whistle goes — turning live exposure into real offers. Athletes play; we handle the rest.
U19 showcase windows
President's weekend showcase and the marquee recruiting window for boys U13 to U19. Hundreds of NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA and junior college coaches descend on Las Vegas to scout across every age group, with the U19 bracket the most heavily recruited of all.
Dedicated girls' showcase week, U13 to U19 — a standalone window built to give female athletes the same coach exposure, visibility and recruiting opportunity as the boys, with the U19 group front and centre for college recruiters.
One week, two showcase windows, hundreds of coaches on the sideline — boys and girls.
Why teams travel here
One of the top-ranked youth soccer tournaments in the United States, with multiple divisions so every U19 side — boys and girls — finds genuinely competitive matches.
Over 1,500 teams across all events each year, representing 40+ states and 30+ countries — opponents you simply will not face anywhere else.
Hundreds of college coaches from NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College attend annually — one of the premier U19 showcase environments in the country.
Matches played on high-quality natural grass and artificial turf across the premier soccer complexes Las Vegas has built exclusively for the game.
The place to be seen
US college coaches recruit where the talent is concentrated. Every February they converge on Las Vegas because the Mayor's Cup brings the strongest U19 boys and girls together in one place — no other event on the calendar puts an athlete in front of so many programmes from so many divisions in so few days.
For a scholarship hopeful, that concentration is everything. One strong performance doesn't just reach one coach — it ripples across an entire recruiting floor, with NCAA DI, DII, DIII, NAIA and junior college staff all watching the same fixture. An offer made in Las Vegas is an offer made by a coach who has seen you live, not just on a screen.
That is why we make sure every Stride athlete who earns a place on the squad is prepared, visible and in front of the right coaches — boys and girls alike.
Travel with Stride
The Mayor's Cup is a Stay & Play tournament — visiting teams book accommodation through the official travel partner for discounted rates. We handle every step of that for the Stride squad so athletes and families can focus on performing.
Places are limited and selected on level, position need and recruiting readiness — for boys and girls. Start with an assessment and we will tell you whether this trip is right for you.
