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2024-2025 Registration is Now Open Learn more
The Drew Cunningham Mentorship Program has been created as an amateur to professional pipeline to find disabled athletes, nurture nascent talent, and catalyze international power soccer careers in the United States.
Are you obsessed with perfecting your spin kick? Do you want to meet the top power soccer athletes in the U.S.? If you said yes to any of these, you need to apply to the Drew Cunningham Mentorship Program. Let’s call it the DCMP. This is a serious commitment. You will be tested. You will be mentored by a world class power soccer athlete. You will persevere with hard work. Stop procrastinating. Apply today.
The Drew Cunningham Mentorship Program (DCMP) is an amateur to professional pipeline. The main objective is to find and identify elite disabled athletes, nurture nascent talent, and catalyze international power soccer careers in the United States.
DCMP is an annual award that pairs one honoree with a mentor from the U.S. Power National Team (USPNT) to support and accelerate the honoree’s path to the national team.
The DCMP honoree will be afforded unprecedented exposure and experience at an official training camp each year to observe and interact with their mentor, as well as other players and staff while in camp. The DCMP will provide transport to and from the domestic USPNT camp, room and board.
This is a highly competitive opportunity built in the image of Andrew “Drew” Cunningham to honor a legend of the sport and two-time member of the USPNT.
Applications open September 3, 2024 and will close October 4, 2024 (11:59 PDT)
“Growing up I was lucky enough to have attended U.S. Power Soccer training camps when I had just started playing. Seeing soccer played at that level made me fall in love with the sport. Those athletes were my heroes and I’m lucky enough to get to play with some of them today.”
– Zach Dickey, USPNT
Andrew “Drew” Cunningham grew up in Central New York. His love of power soccer began at the age of five, his jersey emblazoned with the number 25. Winning the Champions Cup in 2012 and the Premiere Cup in 2015 he eventually gained a reputation for a “beat ‘em up” style of play.
In 2017 Drew represented the US on the national stage at the 2017 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup in Kissimmee, FL. Drew was one of the youngest players to ever play on Team USA. In 2022, he earned a spot on the inaugural U.S. Power National Team player pool under the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Extended National Teams program.
At an early age, Drew’s drive for victory was only outpaced by his knack for smack-talk. Drew was one of the most competitive and skilled athletes on both sides of the pitch, all while supporting and lifting his team to elite levels of competition.
His sardonic sense of humor stood in contrast to the care and empathy that would take form when mentoring young, aspiring (and perhaps quiet) athletes. Drew understood their journey because he knew exactly what they were going through.
Drew’s constant drive to grow and evolve as an athlete, his need to be a part of a successful team, and his determination to compete at the highest level, are essential to highlight in his memory.
DCMP is an annual award that aims to recruit young and upcoming power soccer athletes who aspire to compete on the international stage. The honoree will be paired with a USPNT athlete for a year-long mentorship and will be afforded unprecedented exposure and experience at an official USPNT training camp. The goal is to kickstart a professional power soccer career through an immersive experience.
The mentorship program is designed to guide young power soccer athletes by pairing them with an elite national team athlete matched with the honoree’s skills and personality. The mentor will build a relationship with the honoree leading up to the camp through virtual meetings, facilitate key interactions and enrich the overall camp experience, and provide ongoing support and mentoring through the year-long period.
The program helps young athletes reach elite competition levels and provides mentors with leadership opportunities to set them on a path toward a professional career in power soccer.
DCMP will provide transport to and from the domestic USPNT camp. Hotel accommodations and meals will be alongside the mentor and team.
If chosen as the honoree, this will be a serious commitment of time and energy. You must be ready to commit to multiple 30-minute Zoom sessions with your mentor (approximate timing in January, March, June, and October). You and your attendant must be willing to travel to a USPNT domestic camp for 3 days. The attendant must be a parent or guardian. The expected camp date will be late-Spring 2025.
Additional details on the application requirements can be found in the online Application here.
There is no entrance fee. This is a free application made possible by generous donations to the USPSA in Drew Cunningham’s honor.
For any questions, please reach out directly to Peyton Sefick at peyton@powersoccerusa.org
The applicant can use assistance in physically filling out the application, however the content needs to be the direct words and voice of the applicant.
Please refer to the guidance in the online application here (See the lower section titled, “Supporting Material: Video Samples”). If you do not have links to pre-recorded games from the MK Battery Conference cup or other tournaments, please submit videos of you performing the two listed drills - Four Cone Dribbling and Rapid Fire (See Option 2).
No. You must choose either Option 1 or Option 2 detailed in the online application in the lower section titled, “Supporting Material: Video Samples.”
Please reach out directly to Andrew Hida at (hidavisuals@gmail.com). Please do not wait until the last minute to troubleshoot video uploads.
For any questions, please reach out directly to Peyton Sefick at peyton@powersoccerusa.org
“Getting the chance to meet my heroes at such a young age, and how they treated me, like part of the team, and believing in me…that gave me all the confidence I needed.”
– Riley Johnson, USPNT
