Isaiah Page commits to NCAA
Division 1 Campbell University

It is with great excitement that our academy announce that our Senior Team Captain Isaiah Page has made a verbal commitment with NCAA Division 1 Campbell University in North Carolina. Isaiah is one of the best players that I have ever coached, I am really proud of him, has been with our academy since 14 years of age and he leads by example and is one of those special players that everyone wants in their team.

Campbell University is an excellent University and Soccer Program, led by Head Coach Steve Armas, who was an excellent soccer player who played for University of Maryland as well as a professional player in the MLS.  Vince Petrasso one of my former players while I was technical director of Woodbridge Soccer Club played at Campbell University and represented the University and soccer program well.  I am very confident that Isaiah will do the very same.

 www.campbell.edu         www.gocamels.com

I would like to congratulate Isaiah Parents Marilyn and Mike, they have been with him every step of the way and have both valued the importance of education first as Isaiah pursues his dream of playing Professional Soccer.

In closing, it is a great day for our academy, I have told Isaiah that it is only a beginning and he has to continue to work so hard on and off the soccer field to make sure he impacts with his University and Soccer Team. And he will do.

Academy Director – Bobby Graham  

Weekly Schedule

Training
Tuesday
February 7
Soccer Centre
Dome
9pm-11pm

Training
Thursday
February 9
Soccer Centre
Dome
9pm – 11pm

Training
Saturday
February 11
Soccer Centre
Dome
6pm – 8pm
________

Player must be of OYSL Provincial League quality

Must have a recommendation from Coach, Technical Director, Regional – Provincial – National Coach

Have a superior passion for the game

Have an academic goal as well as athletic – Academics are very important in our academy

Must be able to attend on a regular basis – 3 training sessions a week

Have a serious mentality about the sport, discipline, respect and desire to play at the highest level

Players have to be technically composed and comfortable with the ball

First Commitment of 2012
Our academy player
Adriano Deabreu

I am really happy to announce our first commitment of 2012, our academy player Adriano Deabreu who was a freshman goalkeeper and student athlete at NJIT has transferred to NCAA Division 1 Western Michigan University. 

Adriano was an excellent goalkeeper in our academy and we are very happy for him as he will be our first player to play for Head Coach Stu Riddle, and we are excited about that as Coach Riddle has done an excellent job at Western Michigan University and his team were able to defeat the National Champions Akron University in the MAC conference game last year. 

We wish Adriano all the best as he enters into this new challenge and we look forward to playing University of Western Michigan in February and Adriano will be the goalkeeper who will be playing against us.

All the very best to Adriano and his family and thank you to Coach Riddle who has supported our academy program and we wish him well as he enters 2012 with his soccer team.

Academy Director Graham  
   

Our Player Daniel Festa wins
MAAC Academic Award
and All MAAC TEAM

We are all very proud of Daniel, he is what our academy represents, a successful student athlete.  Daniel University Team advanced to the MAAC Championship Final and had a very good run at the end of the season, both the semi-final and the championship final were played on ESPN from Disney World in Florida.

We are all very proud of Daniel, he is what our academy represents, a successful student athlete.  Today Daniel plays in the semi-finals of the MAAC in Florida at Disney World at 3pm on ESPN 3.

Link

Why our Academy is a
superior choice to a
Club program for
an elite soccer player 

Objective of our Winstars Soccer Academy
The focus of our academy is Player Development.  Academy soccer provides players with the best possible opportunity to achieve their utmost as elite soccer players.

Training and Standards
Our academy will train 3 times per week and have one very competitive game every ten days. We Increase the quality and quantity of training for our elite players. We Increase the amount of quality games. We  Reduce the overall amount of games 

Advantages
We focus on a superior everyday training environment which leads to more future opportunities (University NCAA, Professional, National Youth Team).
Recruiting ability enhanced due to summer tour, showcase tournaments, our winter showcase and our connections and proven track record with player development. NCAA and NAIA  University Coaches, Youth National Teams, Professional Teams. Our website has the update profile on everyone of our Winstars student athletes.

Our Player Goals
Education is of major importance of our soccer academy. Our Academy values skill over strength and encourages technique over physique.  We want to be judged on the quality of player that we produce, not by the amount of trophies we win. Our Academy believes that in order to produce outstanding young soccer players, you need to have the best coaches who have an understanding of coaching at the highest technical level. 

As the famous Dutch player Johan Cruyff once said, " How can the player be better than the teacher "We want to provide young players with an environment where they can prosper as individual players. It is important that they are comfortable with the ball and allowed to express themselves without being shouted at. 

Our game is declining in technique, from a very young age our players are being selected in accordance with their size and not their talent level and this is a very big mistake, we want to build a player for the future and at the young age we want to encourage creativity and fun and enjoyment rather than being concerned so much with winning a league or building a winning team. 

Our Beliefs
If you learn to play well, the results will come, not the other way around. The fear of losing is creating highly unimaginative soccer.  It is our job to prepare our young players mentally, socially and physically, so that they will be able to get to the next level. We have a proven development record. We have specialized and individual training programs that target specific positions on the field, goalkeeper training.

The USA NCAA Collegiate System is the best development for elite soccer players who are also earning an education.  A quote from one of the best coaches in North America, U14 USA National Team Coach Manfred Schellscheidt, " We are burning kids out.  The need to win the next tournament is the grand reason why we do everything and so we manipulate the situation to find shortcuts to success.  In many cases we just burn these guys out and in the end they haven't mastered anything.  We can do a lot better than that if we start thinking more about what makes the kids better players instead of just winning meaningless games." 

We want our players to gain confidence with the ball, we want them to work hard, however most important, we want them to have a smile on their face and want to come back to the next session. We want to inspire passion and we want them to do the things that are required to be able to enjoy the game and reach the next level and their dreams.

For our Younger Players - This is where it all begins.  

  WINSTARS...  CHAMPIONS MADE HERE 

              

Why Winstars Soccer Academy?

" Excellence in education and professional development " 

Here are some major reasons why becoming
a member of Winstars is so special and important for you.

(1)   Education, if you are interested in getting to the next level of play, which we consider NCAA Division 1 Soccer. Coach  Graham has sent more players on Athletic Scholarship to Top Academic and Athletic Insitutions in the USA, than anyone else or any other coach or academy or club program.

(2)  Our Focus is on Player Development. Winning is secondary to development. We provide an excellent training environment for our players, we practise at least three times a week on quality facilities, and trained by the best coaches who have played at the Collegiate or Professional Level.

(3)  Coach Graham, our Academy Director has sent more players to Professional Soccer and currently has more former players playing Professional Soccer than any other individual or academy in Canada.

(4)   Exposure, Our Winstars Players have the opportunity to be showcased throughout USA. We are highly respected throughout the USA by NCAA Coaches at the Top Universities and have the connections and respect by our Professional Peers not only in Canada, also south of the border. This provides our Players the best possible opportunity to achieve their utmost potential as elite soccer players.

(5)  Our objective of our curriculum is to develop each of the four components of a player in an appropriate manner.
Technical -  Tactical -  Psychological - Physical
We have Professional Staff in all areas working to make each of our academy players the best that they can be.

(6)  Our Standards are very high. All Players who want to play for the Winstars, first must have a tryout and come to a couple of sessions. At that point our Staff evaluates the Player and also allows the Player and Family to see our Program.  There is an Academy for everyone, however not everyone will meet the high standards of our Winstars Academy.

(7)  Our Program is Fun, every time we train or play games, we want our Players to enjoy their soccer, feel comfortable on the ball and allow them to express themselves. Our Staff will do everything they can to challenge the players, however at the same time allow the players to enjoy their soccer and always to have a smile on their face.

(8)  We have a Proven track record. Coach Graham has developed many players over the years and has taken many different teams to Canadian National Championships and Ontario Cup Championships as well as winning everything there has to be won at the youth level , OYSL League and Cup Championships, won many Coach of the Year awards. Won the Prestigious Robbie Tournament many times. 1996 Ontario Youth Soccer League- Chairman's Award Presented to Bob Graham" In recognition of your continued dedication to the game of Soccer" 1999 From the Robbie International Soccer Tournament - For Outstanding Achievement and contribution to the game of soccer "  

(9)   Coach Graham has coached against Teams at the highest level, against the Best the World has to offer at the Prestigious Dallas Cup and many times competed in the Super Group. His Teams have played teams like the reserve and youth teams from AC Milan, Boca Juniors, International of Brazil, EC Vitoria of Brazil, Tottenham Hotspur, New Castle United, Benfica, Monterrey, Tigres, Costa Rica National Team, Moscow Dynamo, Dinamo Kiev as well as the best the USA has to offer, Dallas Texans, FC Delco, Chicago Magic, Chicago Sockers, Nomads of California, and many more.

(10)  Our Players are all well mannered, respectful, disciplined, sportsmanship is demanded, we build character. They all have to have shirts tucked in, boots polished. Well groomed. Swearing and disrespect in not tolerated.

In our academy we put respect before results.  We also pass on our passion for the game and continue to allow our players to grow their passion for the game of soccer.