Johns Creek High School's boys soccer team won the Georgia state championship and finished No. 1 nationally this spring, the latest marker of a sport reshaping youth athletics across the city.
Johns Creek Athletics announced on May 26 that the Gladiators earned the top national ranking from both MaxPreps and United Soccer Coaches.
Block Field
The championship sits atop a broader shift visible in Johns Creek's parks. The city's 2026 field calendar shows soccer occupying Cauley Creek Park's turf fields most weekday evenings, often from 5 to 8 p.m., with weekend play extending across Cauley Creek and Shakerag Park. Cauley Creek alone has two lighted turf fields, two grass athletic fields and two futsal courts.
Georgia Express FC, founded in 2008, trains at both parks. Its fall recreational program charges $150 to $275 depending on age, plus a separate uniform fee. The club's academy program requires a one-year commitment with professional coaching, training Mondays and Wednesdays and playing games on Saturdays. TOCA's Johns Creek training center offers soccer classes starting at age 1, with group memberships running $119 for four monthly sessions or $199 for eight.
Nationally, boys' high school soccer passed baseball for the first time during the 2024-25 school year, with 484,908 participants compared to 472,598, the North Atlanta Star reported, citing National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) data. In Georgia, boys' high school soccer grew 14% between 2013 and 2023 while baseball declined about 1%.
Demographics help explain why Johns Creek is fertile ground. Nearly 35% of the city's residents were born outside the United States, according to Census estimates. For many families with roots in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia, soccer is the sport children already know.
Georgia's professional soccer infrastructure is expanding, too. The Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center opened May 7 in Fayette County. The 200-acre complex features 17 outdoor playing surfaces serving all 27 U.S. national teams. The facility cost roughly $228 million, Yahoo Sports reported, with Arthur M. Blank contributing $50 million.
U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said at the May 7 ribbon-cutting that the center "gives us a home where we can serve the next generation of players, coaches, referees, members and fans."
Atlanta United FC averaged 41,435 fans per home match in 2025, the highest attendance in Major League Soccer. Atlanta is also set to add a National Women's Soccer League franchise in 2028.
