South Shore Select U-16 forward Sophie Reale is one of the region's top 2004-born players. (Evan Scales/New England Soccer Journal)
How South Shore Select academy director Katie Schoepfer (New London, Conn.) sees it, the club's move into the Development Academy for the 2019-20 season was never going to produce a strict departure from their foundation.
After all, it had resulted in them being routinely competitive in the National Premier League. The DA, while a league club director Liz Lima (Rockland, Mass.) was eager to join, wouldn't change their identity.
“The goal at Select is to provide a pathway for every player, really whatever makes sense for a player to become the best leader and person they can be,” Schoepfer said. “We want our players to be confident and strong and powerful, and now we just have another pathway for that."
