By Cary Shuman
If you are a youth soccer player in East Boston, there is no better place to be than the Salesian Boys and Girls Club’s new soccer field on summer Friday nights.
Boston Scores, in partnership with The New England Revolution Academy, is holding a weekly instructional clinic for East Boston Football Club (EBFC) players and Boston students from Scores’ school-based program. The players, who are nominated by their coaches for participation, are granted the opportunity to be trained by Revolution Academy coaches.
Allison Saucier, senior manager of community programs at Boston Scores and a former soccer player at Division 1 UConn, said that 50 elementary students and 30 middle school students were selected for training in the program. Some players will advance to the Revolution Academy system.
Boston Scores, through its partnership with the New England Revolution Foundation, was also able to secure 400 Revolution game tickets donated by Ticketmaster.
“We brought East Boston GC families of all ages to a game versus Orlando City at Gillette Stadium,” said Saucier. “It was an awesome occasion. A group of 20 of our EBFC players had the opportunity to go on the field before the game and watch the professional players warm up.”
Boston Region 1 School Supt. Tommy Welch, vice president of the EBFC and a member of the board of Boston Scores, said a week earlier EBFC players enjoyed a video presentation by Revolution star Tomas Chancalay.
Reflecting on EBFC’s trip to the Revolution-Orlando City game, Welch said, “I would not doubt that for more than 80 percent of the people who came to Foxborough – it was their first time at a Revolution game or at Gillette Stadium. It was a great experience, and our players were cheering for the Revs throughout the game. At halftime, our group was featured on the Jumbotron in the stadium.”
Welch, whose son, Samuel, participates in the clinics, added, “This is a very special program for our EBFC players and we’re excited to be a part of it and to have our players trained in East Boston by Revolution coaches.”
Summer Soccer Camp
Alison Saucier also noted that Boston Scores is conducting its first, full-day, boys and girls summer camp in East Boston. It is a six-week session.
“The camp is centered around our Boston Scores’ core values, both soccer and enrichment,” said Saucier. “We do soccer in the mornings and the afternoons, but in the middle of the day we take a break to do poetry, service learning, and the arts. It’s just different ways for the students to express themselves and learn how to communicate with each other.” Boston Scores is certainly making a tremendous impact on the soccer community in East Boston.