Just a day before the 2016 NWSL Draft, the Seattle Reign have announced that they have created the Seattle Reign Academy. They are partnering with Seattle United in hope of providing a competitive platform of female soccer in the Seattle Region.
The Academy will be led by Laura Harvey, Seattle’s head coach and general manager. She will be assisted by Jason Ferrell, Seattle United’s director of Coaching – Girls, Sam Laity, assistant coach for the Reign and the Academy’s Technical Director, who will lead the day-to-day operations. Reign FC is currently evaluating candidates for the Technical Director role and expect to have the role filled within the next 30 days. Coaches for the Seattle Reign Academy will be identified by Harvey and the Technical Committee, and will be employed by Seattle United.
“After three seasons of intense focus on building a world-class professional squad, we are now in a position to confidently engage more deeply with the community, and specifically, to use our unique position to influence the development of female soccer players in the Northwest,” said Laura Harvey. “I am deeply passionate about youth player development and expect to build the Academy program in a manner that reflects my beliefs about how to develop world-class players on and off the pitch.”
Beginning this spring, Seattle Reign Academy will field teams for 13-18 year-old females and will try to compete at the highest level of competition for those age groups. Academy teams will wear authentic Seattle Reign kits and training gear provided by Nike. The kits and gear will feature a newly designed Seattle Reign Academy Crest as well as a Seattle United patch on the sleeve.
Reign coaches will provide support and coach education for Seattle United players and coaches. Players and coaches from the Reign will be involved in Seattle United programs while Seattle United players and coaches will have the opportunity to observe and learn from the Reign’s first team training sessions.
“We view the launch of the Seattle Reign Academy and the partnership with Seattle United as the first step in a much broader initiative to support the development of female youth soccer players in our region,” said Harvey. “Over the coming months we will work to forge partnerships with additional clubs in the Seattle area. There are many clubs in our area doing fantastic work with female youth players in our region; we will seek opportunities to support their efforts, with a shared goal of developing the next generation of elite female soccer players.”
This is good for the growth of women's soccer not only in Seattle, but the rest of the country as well. Seattle becomes the fifth NWSL team to launch an academy.
All quotes provided by Seattle Reign FC press release.