Youth & High School

Sixteen Clubs Added to Development Academy By Nick Williams
July 17, 2007
CHICAGO – The U.S. Soccer Development Academy announced the addition of 16 clubs to the program Monday, putting the total number of teams at 47, near the expected capacity for the inaugural season.

Of the 47, three are from New England, as Oakwood SC (Connecticut), FC Greater Boston Bolts (Massachusetts) and Seacoast United (New Hampshire) all previously were accepted.

The Development Academy is a United States Soccer Federation project designed "to shift the focus of the young elite player from an overburdened, game emphasis model to a meaningful training and competition model."

The 16 latest clubs added to U.S. Soccer's Development Academy:

AFC Lightning Soccer Club (Georgia)

Arsenal SC (California)

Birmingham United Soccer Association (Alabama)

Carmel United Soccer Club (Indiana)

Empire United Soccer Academy (New York)

FC Milwaukee (Wisconsin)

FC Portland Soccer Academy (Oregon)

Internationals Soccer Club (Ohio)

Irvine Strikers (California)

Metro United Soccer Club (Illinois)

Metropolitan Oval Foundation, Inc. (New York)

North Meck Soccer Club (North Carolina)

Ohio Elite Soccer Academy (Ohio)

PA Classics (Pennsylvania)

Schulz Academy (Florida)

Scott Gallagher (Missouri)

“We are very excited about the excellent roster of clubs that have the desire to change their development environment,” said U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team head coach John Hackworth. “The quality of applications has been outstanding and we are approaching our targeted number of expected slots for the Inaugural Academy Season.”

After the latest round of Academy admissions, it is anticipated that only a limited number of remaining spots are available for the inaugural Academy Season. The Selection Committee has reviewed over 100 applications so far.

For more information on the academy, see Soccer New England's "Feature Stories" section.



Material from press releases was used in this report.