Utah Avalanche was formed in January 2001, as an all-girls competitive soccer club.
Joanna Barney, Utah Avalanche Executive Director, founded the club in 2001 to allow the state’s premier female athletes an opportunity to receive the training, support, and resources needed to realize their full potential. Barney believed if she could bring the best of the best from the state into one club, they could compete with anyone, at any level. Barney played Division I soccer at the University of Utah. It was her dream to create an opportunity for Utah athletes to compete and receive recognition at the highest levels.

Utah Avalanche has focused on the development of the female athlete for over 20 years! Because of that singular focus, they have driven tremendous success for Utah’s female athletes. Avalanche teams have achieved a great deal of success on the national stage.  Over 350 graduates/alumni have gone on to play with many of the top collegiate soccer programs across the country, and many Avalanche athletes have reached the regional, national, and even world cup levels.

In 2001, Barney asserted, “We are going to train our players with qualified coaches and help each one of them reach their highest level of achievement. I have no doubt that our girls will be able to compete with anyone in the nation.” What Barney said back in 2001 has proven to be true, as hundreds of athletes have moved onto college programs receiving millions of dollars in scholarships.

Utah Avalanche is the only Utah girls club that is consistently recognized, not only in the Western region but throughout the nation. A testament to this fact is the club’s participation in the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL). The ECNL is a national youth soccer league founded to provide a playing platform for the highest level of competition, the best developmental environment, and to assist with the identification of players for US Soccer’s National Teams.

In 2014 Utah Avalanche decided to start a boys program. The decision was made to run the program parallel to the girls and name it Avalanche Football Club Apex (aka AFC Apex). Then, in 2015 the Avalanche/Apex club took over Inter FC which added to the depth and strength of the boy's program as well as adding a few girls teams to the Avalanche side. Most recently, in 2020, Forza FC and United Soccer Academy also became a part of the Utah Avalanche Family, and the club embraced a single name and identity.  The merger ultimately formed a club that spans the entire Wasatch front;  stretching from Utah County, through Salt Lake, Davis, and Weber County as well as reaching into Cache Valley.

In 2020, our boys program was accepted into the Elite Clubs National League. We believe our boys program will be equally successful at all levels of the sport and will be able to compete with anyone in the nation.

Utah Avalanche is where Utah’s best soccer players come to train, persevere, and ultimately perform at levels they never thought possible, on and off the field. We have indoor training facilities in Midvale, Farmington, and Logan that offer year-round training opportunities for our players.

Avalanche continues to expand its offerings and training opportunities for its athletes each year.