Waltham, 21st August 2009; MPS U13 and U14 Premier and Premier Development teams are preparing for the launch of the Fall Season this weekend with league play kicking off in the exciting New England Premiership (NEP). The official launch at Citizens Bank Field, Lancaster on Saturday August 22nd will see teams aged U10 – U14 in competition.
The New England Premiership (NEP) is a new club-based league for clubs throughout New England focused on player development. Participation is limited to clubs with a demonstrated commitment to player development such as minimum licenses for coaches, minimum standards for facilities and a dedicated Director of Coaching with a minimum of a USSF B license.
“We are very excited to see our teams compete in the New England Premiership during the fall season,” said MPS Director of Coaching Peter Bradley. “In addition to raising standards, the NEP will allow me and my fellow DOC’s to observe multiple teams and staff on gameday at one location. We feel the NEP will complement the development environment we work to create for our players.”
During the fall 2009 season, MPS will also enter teams into Maple and MASC. The MPS Knights / Lady Knights and PD Black teams will compete in Maple with the PD Red teams competing in MASC.
When asked about the decision to join Maple, Bradley said, “All our Premier teams are playing in the New England Premiership, other than the Knights and Lady Knights who, as a new entity, do not yet meet the minimum requirements for the NEP, which we expect to rectify in the next year.”
“As far as Maple is concerned, while we continue to dislike anything associated with promotion and relegation for young players, we have found that our teams have been unable to find competitive games in MASC,” said Bradley. “The Knights/Lady Knights teams and our PD Black teams will play in Maple this year hopefully against peer-level competition. These teams will focus on the MPS mission of player development with no concerns over consequences associated with promotion/relegation. The Premier Development Red teams will continue to use MASC, as we believe at the moment, they will find peer-level competition here.”
When asked whether the new structure for the fall would impact the club’s participation in the Super Y-League Bradley said, “We have always enjoyed our experiences in the Y-League and have no plans to leave. The Y-League’s extended season provides more contact with our players and the home and away structure provides a superior development environment for both the individuals and the team. We expect the NEP to complement our Y-League participation.”
All MPS Premier and PD Black teams aged U13 and U14 will also compete in tournament action during the fall season. Fifteen teams will head to the FC Stars of Mass tournament at Citizens Banks Field in Lancaster for the FC Stars of Mass tournament while the U14 Renegades Black side will head to the Seacoast United event.
“The Labor Day event fits nicely into the fall calendar,” said Bradley. “With all this talk of tournaments and leagues, it is important to remember the importance of the quality and content of our training sessions. We want all our teams to be progressively challenged in a high intensity and positive practice environment which is fundamental to their development. While playing games is an important part of development and why young players enjoy the game, the training environment is where the majority of our players learning take place, especially at this age.”
For more information on playing opportunities within the MPS Premier Team program, please contact Mark McDevitt on 781-891-6900 ext.12 or mmcdevitt@mpsbr.com. For more information on the New England Premiership (NEP) please contact NEP League Treasurer Matt Sprague at msprague@seacoastunited.org or NEP League Manager Martyn Emery on memery@mpsbr.com 
