Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle’s new partnership with the professional Westchester Soccer Club (WSC) will fund scholarships to the team’s Soccer Academy for selected club youths and create innovative opportunities and benefits that support the club’s advocacy, programming and services.
Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle members ages 9 to 18 will try out for up to six scholarships on March 1 at Columbus Elementary School in New Rochelle. Their skills will be evaluated by Westchester Soccer Club team personnel, giving winners the opportunity to enroll in the academy and potentially develop into professional soccer players.
The partnership also is expected to include exclusive soccer clinics, internships at Westchester Soccer Club’s administrative office, tickets to games and opportunities to meet and learn from professional soccer players. In addition, Westchester Soccer Club plans to donate a portion of all tickets sold to the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle to support programming.
Westchester Soccer Club will open its inaugural season in the United Soccer League’s League One, which includes 14 teams primarily along the East Coast. Home games will be at the Stadium at Memorial Field in Mount Vernon, New York. The team’s inaugural game is March 8 vs. the Greenville Triumph in South Carolina.
The Westchester Soccer Club’s Soccer Academy operates year-round, with students currently born between 2006 and 2015. It is the only soccer academy in the area with a direct pathway to a professional soccer team. Academy participants primarily practice at Woodlands Middle/High School in Hartsdale, New York, and staff are certified by UEFA, the governing body for soccer in Europe and other countries. Players competing for academy scholarships will be judged on aspirations to improve, love of the game, positive attitude and their soccer creativity, offensive and defensive skills.
For 95 years, Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle has been an integral part of the community, offering quality, achievement-driven programming, encompassing academics, mental wellness, fitness, leadership and civics. Today, it is one of Westchester County’s largest nonprofits and a leader in youth development, serving over 8,000 youths annually at 12 school sites and two clubhouses in Larchmont, Mamaroneck and New Rochelle
The Westchester Soccer Club is the area’s first homegrown professional sports team. It plans to introduce a professional women’s soccer team in the coming years.
