1. Solution Overview
We propose a modern, cloud-native Youth Management Portal built as a custom solution to meet the specific and complex requirements of Red Bulls Youth Programs. The platform will be designed for:
- Scalability – Handle 110,000+ accounts and $4MM+ in annual transactions
- Security – COPPA and PCI-DSS compliance from the ground up
- Integration – Seamless connectivity with Salesforce, payment systems, and mobile apps
- Longevity – Modern architecture with 10+ year technology lifespan
- Usability – Intuitive interfaces for all user types, from administrators to parents
2. Architecture Overview
2.1 High-Level Architecture
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CDN / WAF │
│ (AWS CloudFront / WAF) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Load Balancer │
│ (AWS ALB / ELB) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
┌───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┐
│ │ │
┌───────▼───────┐ ┌──────────▼──────────┐ ┌──────▼───────┐
│ Admin Portal │ │ Public Portal │ │ Mobile API │
│ (Laravel + │ │ (Laravel + │ │ (Laravel │
│ Vue.js) │ │ Vue.js) │ │ REST API) │
└───────────────┘ └─────────────────────┘ └──────────────┘
│
┌───────────▼───────────┐
│ Laravel Backend │
│ (Controllers, │
│ Services, API) │
└───────────────────────┘
│
┌───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┐
│ │ │
┌───────▼───────┐ ┌──────────▼──────────┐ ┌──────▼───────┐
│ MySQL / │ │ Redis │ │ Meilisearch │
│ PostgreSQL │ │ (Cache, Queue, │ │ (Search) │
│ (Primary) │ │ Sessions) │ │ │
└───────────────┘ └─────────────────────┘ └──────────────┘
│
┌───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┐
│ │ │
┌───────▼───────┐ ┌──────────▼──────────┐ ┌──────▼───────┐
│ Salesforce │ │ Payment Gateway │ │ Data │
│ Marketing │ │ (Cybersource) │ │ Warehouse │
└───────────────┘ └─────────────────────┘ └──────────────┘
2.2 Technology Stack Details
Server Environment
| Component | Technology | Rationale |
|---|
| Operating System | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | Long-term support (until 2027), security updates |
| Web Server | Nginx | High performance, efficient static file serving |
| PHP Runtime | PHP 8.3+ with OPcache | Latest features, JIT compilation |
| Process Manager | PHP-FPM | Optimized PHP process handling |
Backend Technologies
| Component | Technology | Rationale |
|---|
| Framework | Laravel 11 | Enterprise-grade MVC, robust ecosystem |
| ORM | Eloquent | Active record pattern, relationship management |
| Queue System | Laravel Horizon + Redis | Background jobs, email sending, reports |
| Task Scheduling | Laravel Scheduler | Cron-based tasks, maintenance jobs |
| API | Laravel REST + optional GraphQL | RESTful endpoints, versioned API |
| Testing | PHPUnit + Pest | Unit and feature testing |
Frontend Technologies
| Component | Technology | Rationale |
|---|
| Framework | Vue.js 3 | Reactive components, Laravel integration |
| Build Tool | Vite | Fast builds, optimized production bundles |
| UI Components | Tailwind CSS + Headless UI | Utility-first CSS, accessible components |
| State Management | Pinia | Official Vue.js state management |
| Testing | Vitest + Cypress | Unit and E2E testing |
Database & Storage
| Component | Technology | Rationale |
|---|
| Primary DB | MySQL 8 or PostgreSQL 16 | ACID compliance, JSON support |
| Cache | Redis 7 | Session storage, rate limiting |
| Search | Meilisearch via Laravel Scout | Fast member/organization search |
| File Storage | AWS S3 | Documents, images, exports |
| CDN | AWS CloudFront | Static assets, reduced latency |
3. Security & Compliance Architecture
3.1 Authentication & Authorization
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Identity Management │
│ (Laravel Sanctum/Passport) │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ SSO │ │ MFA │ │ Social │ │
│ │ SAML/OIDC │ │ TOTP/SMS │ │ Login │ │
│ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Role-Based Access Control │
│ (Laravel Gates & Policies) │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Admin Master > Regional Manager > Coordinator > Intern │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Trainer > Program Manager > Team Coach > Parent │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
User Types and Permissions
| User Type | Portal Access | Key Permissions |
|---|
| Admin Master | Full Admin | All features, user management, system config |
| Regional Manager | Admin (scoped) | Contracts, invoices, schedules for region |
| Regional Coordinator | Admin (limited) | Schedules, info sheets, reports |
| Trainer | Trainer Portal | Schedules, evaluations, registers, reports |
| Program Manager | PM Portal | Contracts, invoices, registrations view |
| Team Coach | Coach Portal | Development plans, team reports |
| Parent | Parent Portal | Registration, program management, evaluations |
3.2 COPPA Compliance
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act requires special handling for data from children under 13:
| Requirement | Implementation |
|---|
| Verifiable Parental Consent | Parent account required before child registration; consent captured and timestamped |
| Data Minimization | Only collect necessary child data; health data encrypted separately |
| Parental Access | Parents can view, edit, and delete their children's data |
| Data Retention | Configurable retention policies; automated purging |
| Third-Party Disclosure | No child data shared without explicit consent |
3.3 PCI-DSS Compliance
Payment processing ($4MM+ annually) requires PCI-DSS compliance:
| Requirement | Implementation |
|---|
| No Card Storage | Tokenization via Cybersource/Stripe; no card data stored |
| Secure Transmission | TLS 1.3, validated certificates |
| Network Segmentation | Payment services isolated |
| Access Logging | All payment-related actions logged |
| Regular Testing | Quarterly vulnerability scans, annual penetration testing |
4. Integration Architecture
4.1 Payment Gateway (Cybersource/Stripe)
┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐
│ Checkout │────▶│ Payment │────▶│ Cybersource │
│ View │ │ Service │ │ API │
└──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘
│
▼
┌──────────────┐
│ Webhook │ (Payment confirmations,
│ Handler │ refunds, disputes)
└──────────────┘
Features:
- Tokenized payments (no PCI scope increase)
- Saved payment methods for returning parents
- Automatic retry for failed subscription payments
- Refund and credit processing
- Billing code tracking for finance reporting
5. Performance & Scalability
5.1 Performance Targets
| Metric | Target |
|---|
| Page Load Time | < 2 seconds (P95) |
| API Response Time | < 200ms (P95) |
| Registration Checkout | < 3 seconds end-to-end |
| Concurrent Users | 1,000+ simultaneous |
| Uptime | 99.9% (excluding planned maintenance) |
5.2 Scalability Approach
- Horizontal Scaling: AWS Auto Scaling based on load
- Database Scaling: Read replicas for reporting, connection pooling
- Caching Strategy: Redis for sessions, frequently-accessed data
- CDN: Static assets served from CloudFront edge locations
- Queue-Based Processing: Laravel Horizon for reports, emails, bulk operations
6. Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity
| Component | Strategy | RTO | RPO |
|---|
| Database | Multi-AZ RDS with automated failover | 5 min | 1 min |
| Application | Blue-green deployment, auto-healing | 2 min | 0 |
| File Storage | S3 cross-region replication | 15 min | 1 hour |
| Backups | Daily full, hourly incremental | 4 hours | 1 hour |
7. Technology Lifespan
The proposed stack is designed for long-term viability:
| Component | Expected Support | Upgrade Path |
|---|
| Laravel | 2+ years per LTS version | Well-documented upgrade guides |
| Vue.js | 3+ years per major version | Incremental upgrades, stable API |
| PHP | 3+ years per version | Regular version upgrades |
| Ubuntu LTS | 5 years standard, 10 years ESM | Proven migration path |
| MySQL/PostgreSQL | 5+ years per version | Well-documented migrations |
| AWS | Indefinite | Cloud-native, managed services |
Future-Proofing Considerations
- Modular Laravel architecture allows component replacement
- API-first design enables new frontend technologies if needed
- Containerization ensures portability across cloud providers
- Standards-based integrations (OAuth, REST) ensure compatibility
