OL Reign Academy Joins the Girls Academy

OL Reign has announced that its youth academy, OL Reign Academy, will begin play in the Girls Academy league beginning with its upcoming 2020/2021 season. OL Reign Academy was previously a member of the U.S. Soccer Girls’ Development Academy.

 The Girls Academy (GA) is a new, member-led league that currently includes 59 top-level clubs—including 45 former U.S. Soccer Girls’ DA clubs—across the United States. The league is focused on providing clubs with the strongest possible platform to support the development of female footballers with exceptional talent, tenacity, and focus. The GA was founded by former members of the U.S. Soccer Girls’ Development Academy.

OL Reign Academy will field teams in the GA in the 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003/2002 age groups (OL Reign Academy Bleue) and will compete in the Northwest Conference of the GA. The Northwest Conference is currently comprised of six clubs located in Washington and Northern California, including Lamorinda SC, Silicon Valley Soccer Academy, Breakers FC, Clovis Crossfire, and the ISC Gunners. It is expected that the Northwest Conference will further expand in the coming weeks, adding additional teams from the region.

 “We believe the Girls Academy is the best possible platform to support the future growth of our club, as the GA blends the key attributes of U.S. Soccer’s Girls’ DA and ECNL, while providing each club the freedom to shape their programs in the manner best suited to their philosophy and mission,” said OL Reign Academy Technical Director Amy Griffin. “The focus on the quality of the training environment and high standard of competition will be similar to what we experienced in the Girls’ DA, while the high visibility to college coaches and ability for our players to play with their high school teams mirrors the most valued attributes of the ECNL.”

Consistent with the member-led nature of the Girls Academy, OL Reign Academy Technical Director Amy Griffin has been elected to serve on the board of the Girls Academy.

“To have an individual of Amy Griffin’s stature join the Girls Academy in a leadership role enhances the strength of our board and the league. Not only is Amy an incredible person with the utmost integrity, she also has an extraordinary lifelong commitment to the game,” said Girls Academy board member Ashlee Fontes-Comber. “Amy brings her knowledge of the landscape of the game from her perspective as a former USWNT player and as a coach from youth to college to the Olympic levels. Amy’s wealth of experience will mesh well with the current GA leadership and she will be an instrumental contributor to guiding the GA forward.”

OL Reign Academy (originally Reign Academy) was founded in 2016 and is one of a handful of clubs in the United States led by women. The club provides a female-centered training and playing environment designed to inspire and empower the next generation of female footballers. OL Reign Academy focuses exclusively on the development of female players and features a majority-female coaching staff.

“The GA perfectly supports our philosophy and mission of providing girls with an environment that is thoughtfully crafted to support the unique needs of female players,” said OL Reign Academy President Teresa Predmore. “Our objective is to enable girls of all ages, aptitudes, and abilities to achieve their full potential as players and people. For us it starts with a training environment that is both competitive and compassionate, led by coaches of extraordinary quality and commitment, from which the conditions emerge where players achieve their individual objectives while retaining their joy for the game.”

In addition to the OL Reign Academy Bleue teams that will compete in the Girls Academy, OL Reign Academy will also field eight teams in the Puget Sound Premier League (Bleue 2008, 2009 and 2010 age groups and Rouge 2003/2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009).

OL Reign Academy is currently forming teams for players ages 9-19 in both its Bleue and Rouge programs. To find out more parents and players can visit https://www.olreignacademy.com.