Podcast: James Proctor on building the Masters Academy International program

Masters Academy International Director of Boys Soccer James Proctor joined 'The Goal.' (Courtesy photo)

The latest guest on New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast was Masters Academy International Director of Boys Soccer, James Proctor.

After 26 highly successful seasons as the Worcester Academy boys soccer head coach, Proctor will lead the program at the brand new MAI, a sports-centric academy, located in Stow, Mass., that will feature an 82-acre campus and will aim to create a multi-sport powerhouse in the vein of Florida’s IMG Academy, with a year-round athletic focus that surpasses any other school in New England.

MAI will officially open for the 2026-27 academic year.

Proctor joined hosts Matt Langone and Matt Doherty to discuss his new role, his vision for the program, and how MAI will factor into the New England prep soccer landscape.

Here are some highlights from the discussion:

On how MAI will co-exist with traditional New England prep programs:

Proctor: “We’re all here to get along and do what’s best for a student-athlete, and if that student-athlete takes the traditional New England prep school route and that’s the best route for them, or is it Masters Academy International with a year-round program? In this ecosystem of New England, there’s multiple options, but we still have our contacts and our friends in the New England circle and that’s not going to change. We just offer a different model in this landscape. Some of the schools will play us, they’ve already sort of said that they’ll play us and that’s exciting, because it’s nice to have those crossover games.”

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On building the program’s roster:

Proctor: “We’re talking to over 100 families that have shown interest in the school. We have over 40 applications right now. Year 1 we’re looking to have 36 to 40 students in the school, and it’s only January.”

On the style of soccer he wants MAI to play:

Proctor: “Modern game — pass the ball, possess it, but, certainly, we want to get the ball to the final third of the field to try and score some goals, because that’s the fun part of the game, trying to win and trying to score goals. We want to be very attack-minded, and we want to be a very forward thinking group of players.”

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