WAYNE, Pa. -- Union CEO and Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz and YSC Sports founder Rich Graham ushered in a new age for area soccer on Tuesday in Wayne.
Along with Union coach John Hackworth, head of school Dr. Nooha Ahmed-Lee and 33 eager students, the ribbon was cut on the historic soccer-specific college preparatory private school, YSC Academy.
“It’s huge,” Sakiewicz said. “It’s one of those days in Union history where we will look back 10 or 15 years from now and see a bunch of players at PPL Park and say we were there when we affiliated with YSC Academy and the school. These kids have a league, a school, an academy and amazing opportunities to fulfill their dreams.”
The school, which features elite soccer players from eighth through 12th grade, aims to balance athletics with “rigorous” academics, developing “critical thinking, collaboration, character, creativity and confidence.” Located just across the street from YSC Sports, the students will see a strategic mix of athletic development, technical soccer and education courses.
“The typical high school situation, a kid who’s a soccer player at this level is known as being the elite soccer guy, and that’s his identity,” Graham said. “In this school, you got 33 guys who are soccer guys. So the question is who else are you? What else do you bring the table? Are you an artist? A musician? A writer? We’re going to pull that other element out of them. So success for me is that we start to see the kids invigorated not only what they’re doing on the training pitch but in the classroom.”
Though the Union see YSC Academy as the future of their organization, the club is only an affiliate of the program and is not a financial partner according to Union representatives. The project is funded and headed Graham, an investor in the Union and advocate of the athletic academy model. The school has a tuition of $15,000 with financial aid and scholarships available and all students will be vetted through a strict interview process, where only the best and brightest will be invited and developed.
“This is an idea I’ve had for many years,” Graham said. “I’ve always thought that in American soccer we need to get organized, we need to get systematic about how we’re developing our talent so that we can compete at a global level. And the reason why I invested in MLS is I believe in the American dream. I want to see American players. I want to see us produce 10 Landon Donovans. I want to see us win a World Cup. This all is about what steps can we take to help prepare the United States to compete at a global level.”
For the Union, it’s about talent acquisition. Although the ultimate goal is to have each YSC Academy student make gains toward professional soccer and achieve a college degree, the biggest benefit for the Union is the hand selection of impressive area soccer talent. While athletic academies like this exist in the United States, YSC is the first one affiliated with one particular team.
“It’s going to be a top-class environment for the development of the player,” Sakiewicz said. “Players here will have a better opportunity to play in college. There’s no doubt. If I was a college coach, I’d be spending a lot of time around here.”
But the payoff won’t be quick.
“My dream is to start 11 players at PPL Park and the majority are from this academy,” Sakiewicz continued. “It’s hard to tell when we will get there, this is a long-term project. This is a very expensive, very long term project that will take a decade. After 10 years, we’ll look back and say, that’s the metric.”