By: Europe’s Elite
Over the past few years we have been dedicated to keeping track of the best athletes, coach and programs at the youth level in Europe. This week our staff decided to take on the task of ranking the top 25 youth programs that are on the EU soil. Many may argue that this is an impossible task. But our dedicated staff of writers, analyst and scouts managed to create a list of criteria in order to grade numerous programs and determine who deserves to be in the top 25. The main deciding factors include :
- Overall program stability
- How many youth teams does the program have? How consistent are the roster numbers?
- Consistent coaching
- Does this club have multiple teams?
- Does this club specialize in a specific age group ( i.e academy )
- Dominance of competition year in and out
- Is this the best team normally the best in their respective country? Are they currently competitive and dominate?
- Championships
- How often does this club compete for league championships?
- Players produced to the next level (NCAA, NFL, CFL, top pro leagues in Europe )
- Has this club produced some talent that has continued their career to the next level?
Although these were the 4 main deciding factors for this list. There are many things that go into developing a great youth program. With that being said here is our list of the top 25 programs in Europe.
- Vienna Vikings
- Cologne Crocodiles
- RIG Academy
- Flash De La Courneuve
- Frederikssund Oaks
- Düsseldorf Panthers
- Marseille Blue Stars
- Swarco Raiders
- Kristianstad Predators
- Schwabish Hall Unicorns
- Valerenga Trolls
- Hamburg Huskies
- Las Rozas Black Demons
- London Warriors
- Prauge Black Panthers
- Filton Bristol Pride
- Helsinki Roosters
- Pole Revolution
- London Blitz
- Munich Cowboys
- NFL Academy
- Milano Seamen
- Wasa Royals
- Thun Tigers
- Sollerod Gold Diggers
Honorable mentions:
- Fursty Razorbacks
- Osos Rivas
- Budapest Cowbells
- Paderborn Dolphins
- Bydgoszcz Archers
- Calanda Broncos
- Triangle Razorbacks
- Stuttgart Scorpions
- Amsterdam Panthers
- Oslo Vikings