What is Masters Academy’s plan for boys soccer? James Proctor explains

James Proctor left Worcester Academy to lead MAI's boys soccer program.

STOW, Mass. — As James Proctor sat in a hot, tight and temporary office in early August, a month before the brand-new Masters Academy International officially opened its doors to what the school hopes will be some of the top amateur athletes in New England, MAI’s boys soccer director thought about his time at Worcester Academy.

The 49-year-old did… pretty well in his 26 years at the school. He won multiple NEPSAC Class A titles, won nearly 300 games and sent over 200 players to college soccer. A remarkable run of success, no question, but one that has only now come fully into perspective. Indeed, the view from MAI has helped put everything into context.

“What I did at Worcester Academy was, when I look back now, incredible,” Proctor said.

At Worcester, Proctor had to work around the realities of a traditional New England prep school. An all-day academic schedule that meant practice could only be held in the afternoon. The after-school commitments of a normal student, which could be something as basic as a Tuesday night dinner that required leaving practice early. And, of course, the limitations of the NEPSAC soccer season, which lasts less than three months.

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At MAI, all of those forces working against Proctor are gone. Oh, and he’ll get four full-sized fields (plus a 9v9 turf), an 80-yard strength and conditioning room and a yearly budget he said is as big as most Division 1 soccer programs. It is no wonder, as Proctor drives around the 80-acre campus of the new year-round sports academy, that his perspective has changed.