BOSTON BOLTS SOUTH SHORE JOINS THE NATIONAL ACADEMY LEAGUE - BOYS FOR THE 2024/25 SEASON

BOSTON BOLTS SOUTH SHORE JOINS THE NATIONAL ACADEMY LEAGUE - BOYS FOR THE 2024/25 SEASON

WEYMOUTH, MA; MAY 20, 2024 - The Boston Bolts are proud to announce that the club has been awarded a second National Academy League (NAL) allocation. The NAL is affiliated with U.S. Youth Soccer, the largest youth sport organization in the country. In collaboration with top clubs from across the country, the move enables the Bolts to continue to support their developmental pathways across the entire club and offer high-level competition for players focused on achieving excellence, on and off the field.

"We are proud to bring the NAL to the South Shore with the Bolts,” said Boston Bolts South Shore Regional Director, Don Whitaker. “This is a byproduct of many years of hard work by our players, coaches and families to earn this league designation and we couldn't be more excited to see our teams compete in the NAL in the 2024-25 season!”

The Boston Bolts will have two teams competing in the New England Conference of the NAL - Boys across the U13 (2012) to U19 (2006/07) age groups next season. This announcement comes on the heels of the club’s recent acceptance into the NAL - Girls league.

“We’re thrilled that the Boston Bolts South Shore boys will now be competing in the NAL under the expert leadership of Regional Director, Don Whitaker,” Boston Bolts Sporting Director, Marco Koolman said. “Don Whitaker has consistently demonstrated his professionalism and has significantly developed and strengthened his region, making it highly competitive across all platforms. His teams not only compete at both regional and national levels, but cultivate talented players in alignment with The Bolts Way. This achievement underscores the effectiveness of the club's approach and playing style, as well as the dedication of his coaches to raising the standards of competition for their players. We’ve been impressed with the vision laid out by the NAL staff for both the boys and girls leagues over the past year. We can’t wait to see the development all of our NAL players show within the league next season.”

Following the recent NAL expansion announcements, we are excited to release the full coaches line-up for our MLS Next, National Academy League and Northeast Academy League age groups:

NORTHEAST ACADEMY LEAGUE

U11 & U12 - Andre Bautista & Vinny Linces

MLS NEXT

Under 13 - Jack McCracken
Under 14 - Bryce Schomburg
Under 15 - Sean Napier
Under 16 - Sean Napier
Under 17 - Jonny Burns
Under 19 - Jonny Burns
GK Coach : Vasily Yakimkin

NATIONAL ACADEMY LEAGUE - GIRLS

Under 13 - Murray Cockburn
Under 14 - Shane O' Sullivan
Under 15 - Erika Smith
Under 16 - Murray Cockburn
Under 17 - Ailaina Keely
Under 19 - Ailaina Keely

NATIONAL ACADEMY LEAGUE - BOSTON

Under 13 - Kyle Ryan
Under 14 - Jay Brennan
Under 15 - Armand Hoxholli
Under 16 - Armand Hoxholli
Under 17 - Sam Matteson
Under 19 - Adam Kelley

NATIONAL ACADEMY LEAGUE - SOUTH SHORE

Under 13 - Akhmet Omar
Under 14 - Kevin Gorham
Under 15 - Pat Palingo
Under 16 - Mike O’Dea
Under 17 - Mike O’Dea
Under 19 - Francis Mulkern

For more information about the National Academy League, visit: www.nationalacademyleague.com.

For more information about the Boston Bolts NAL program, please visit https://www.bostonbolts.com/national-academy-league and follow us on @BostonBolts on Instagram and Twitter and @GreaterBostonBolts on Facebook.

Bryce Schomburg