Our Founder

Janet Albert | Founder, ASA-24

Janet Albert was born and raised in the Chicago Metropolitan area. She grew up loving  and being molded by the game of soccer. For over 25 years, Janet has been passionately involved in the development of youth soccer players in the Chicagoland area. From recreational programs to the most elite levels of the game, Janet has been a parent, a coach, a mentor, a supporter, and an advocate of young athletes who are learning about life with a ball at their feet. 

Previously, Janet served as the Director of Coaching for the IYSA’s Inner City Youth Soccer Program where she increased program participation by over 95% within a year and a half. She holds a USSF National Youth coaching license and a USSF National C license and has developed her own trademark coaching method that creates a secure learning environment for the athlete while empowering their creative capacity and sharpening their problem-solving ability. She has trained and developed youth soccer players that have achieved great successes including earning athletic scholarships to compete at Division 1 NCAA programs as well as being offered professional contracts by world renown clubs. Ultimately, Janet believes that her responsibility is to mentor the youth and equip them with the tools to go into the community as better people. 

Janet founded ASA-24 as a response to the perpetual lack of access that many children face in America’s youth soccer culture. Equipped with a profound understanding of the long-lasting effects that gaps of inequity have on young athletes she charted a course for intervention. Janet brings her passion for creating safe, stable learning environments for young athletes to her nonprofit work and seeks to help youth in need across the Chicagoland area.

Quotes About Our Founder

“… [Janet] didn’t hesitate to take me on as a “student”, educating and training me as if my value and potential was as high as anyone she was working with.  I have never felt so valued…what she has provided me … about my value and worth as a person and young woman in this world is her greatest gift to me.”

– Sydney Dulak

Saint Louis University Women’s Soccer Commit