Photo provided by: YSC Academy
Eight years ago in November, Union Academy Founder Richie Graham, YSC Academy Principal Dr. Nouha Ahmed Lee, Union Head Coach Jim Curtin, then Athletic Director Ernie Stewart and Academy Director Tommy Wilson introduced Union Academy to the world. public. The installation took place at Wayne's school, directly across from the former Rocket Sports, which Graham family interests purchased, renovated and renamed.
A month later, PSP was immersed in Academy life for a day.
We began at 7:45 a.m. by personally greeting each student as they arrived to change for morning practice. After watching one of the practices, we attended classes throughout the day. We then watched an afternoon practice of one of the two older teams.
movement
YSC Academy moved from Wayne to an old power plant on Seaport Drive along the Chester Waterfront in September of this year. Academy training moved him to the field at the WSFS Sportsplex. The scientists moved to a room on the first floor of the power plant, facing the river with a lawn and picnic tables.
After sufficient time has passed to settle the dust of the move, and before the controlled disruption of the end of the first year and graduation at the new location, PSP visited the new school on Wednesday, April 17, and I connected with new friends and reconnected with others. Two old men, Kelly Lux, a math teacher, and Nouha Ahmed Lee, the school principal.
The school population varies each year, but since 2016 it has been approximately 75 students. Currently, Year 10 students are the most numerous, which reflects the addition of his U16 team to Union Academy's athletic pathway this year.This year we have a large participation with 7 people.th and 8th Scorer.
Additionally, the fundamental rhythm of the academy's university admissions process has recently changed.
The NCAA transfer portal for student-athletes means men's soccer rosters cannot be predicted season or even months in advance. Before the arrival of the transfer portal, academy juniors already had firm commitments to university. Today, such early certainty has been replaced by last-minute liquidity. The decision about where to attend college began in the fall of his junior year and moved on to the spring of his senior year, a year and a half later.
different physical spaces
The new school building has more space, with 14 square feet of new space for every 9 square feet in the old school building. New ceilings are higher and there are larger windows. Unlike Wayne's school, natural light prevails through these windows, even on cloudy days.
The space you enter through the blue door from the riverside is a common area called the “Town Hall.” (Note the right side of the stairs in the featured photo above.) City Hall takes up two-thirds of the school building's frontage. There are plenty of tables and chairs, academic desks, and other easy chairs. It is also used for individual or group academic work and school-wide meetings.
Seasoned teachers perceive city hall noise as creative and constructive, and not the other way around. Headphones and earphones create individual isolation. Students are expected to act responsibly and are trusted to do so. This approach has been successful for over a decade, even though the population is teenage boys. Expecting responsible behavior creates it.
The commissary has survived and continues to thrive after the move. It is no longer physically separated from City Hall, but is located at one end of City Hall (the furthest end in the featured photo). There is no separation that reflects a teenage boy's relationship with food, especially for an elite athlete who has already devoted an hour and a half of energy to early morning soccer practice.
The commissary is fully stocked with nutritious food items available at all times during the school year. Packaged breakfast sandwiches are available each morning upon request. The commissary and town hall system eliminates the need for cafeterias, kitchens, and separate lunch periods, condensing the total time needed for school work each day.
Each classroom is located within the City Hall and is separated by massive square columns and hallways in the building's structure.
Above this is a mezzanine office, currently used by the academy coaches. New Academy Director John Scheer's door is at the top of the stairs. This arrangement facilitates frequent collective meetings for academic and athletic staff together.
The final physical detail is the color scheme. The clean white paint is accented with light blue signage, emphasizing the advantage of natural light under the high ceilings.
New space strengthens Academy culture
Why are changes in the physical space of school buildings important? They create 'cross-fertilization'.
The move from Wayne to Waterfront brings the entirety of the federation's operations to one physical campus. The Union is the first organization in Major League Soccer to accomplish that. Physical proximity means that all members of the organization are exposed to the entire operation.
We had the pleasure of spending an hour with the Principal on our first academic day after returning from a trip to support the Academy U16's month-long trip to Spain (17 games, 11% of the academic year). I did. She was full of ideas about how she wanted to take advantage of these new opportunities.
What is clearly already advanced are “external” speakers.
Town Hall is not only a physical space, but also a noon meeting where the entire school community gathers each day. One day a week is devoted to clubs such as German or Birds. The second time is devoted to college and career planning, including soccer. The college counselor sets a time each week, and once a month he meets with all student groups.
The aforementioned speakers may be on stage on the third day. They are outsiders in the sense that they are not academics on a day-to-day basis, but club president Tim McDermott is no outsider. So are first team head coach Jim Curtin and first team captain Alejandro Bedoya. The boys were introduced to the use of front office data analysis. They also hear about how the ticketing department works. One day, they might hear from the head groundskeeper.
Given the Academy's progressive educational philosophy, I strongly suspect that all these sessions end with an opportunity for questions. Curiosity is stimulated. The confidence so necessary for exploration is both intentionally taught and overtly required. All aspects of the organization learn about each other, especially when they are directly invited and promised food, such as donuts.
Overall knowledge of the entire operation is the goal.
From their first day back at Wayne, all of the academic teachers and athletic coaches met frequently to evaluate the boys as people as a whole. Mathematics teachers know the growth their sons need to develop in order to successfully defend against Red Bull's high-press system, for example. Free kick defense coaches know how their counterparts are currently managing research projects, such as at AP Government.
All large organizations analyze tasks and subdivide responsibilities. Physical proximity and the resulting cross-fertilization make such barriers passable. Looking at the organization chart, the number of formal communications staff is down compared to his eight years ago. But now we have more staff available to write match summaries, tactical analysis, and all kinds of sports articles when needed.
A single, integrated campus should reinforce the trend toward flexible, versatile, and adaptable generalists.