New Jersey Youth Powerhouse, STA, Officially Joins the WPSL
Established in 2005, STA has grown into one of the country’s foremost leaders in youth development.
STA is a club making a statement in the youth soccer landscape. Ever since it launched in 2005, the club has consistently had players and teams achieve success at the state, regional, and national levels.
They have developed multiple players who have been called up to U.S. Youth National Teams and have graduated over 120 players that have gone on to play at the collegiate level including Division I powerhouses Penn State, Indiana, Yale, and the University of North Carolina.
By joining the WPSL, the club plans to provide a meaningful and competitive developmental platform for players who are transiting out of the youth soccer program and into the collegiate platform.
“First and foremost, we want to give players who have played and been developed at STA a place to train and play during their collegiate years subsequently sustaining their relationship with our program,”
Tim Verschuren, STA girls academy director
In addition to providing a platform for their own players, STA’s roster for their WPSL team will be supported by other leading collegiate players, both domestically and internationally, to aid the club’s mission in further developing the women’s game within New Jersey. STA hopes having this opportunity sit at the top of their youth program’s pyramid will show their young players something to strive for while enhancing their love of the game.
“One of the driving ambitions is to help our players stay engaged with the game and the club beyond their graduation as high school seniors.”
Tom Shields, STA technical director
“Joining the WPSL allows us to do exactly that and we cannot wait to begin competing in one of the nation’s finest platforms for senior women’s soccer,” said Tom Shields, STA technical director.
STA prioritizes their impact within their community just as high as what they set out to achieve on the soccer field. STA has raised over $5,000 in recent years in their support for Breast Cancer Awareness, and $30,000 worth of gift cards in 2020 for Hope for the Holidays – a nonprofit that directly benefits the families of the Morristown area in New Jersey. The club also has their STA Strong campaign where players raise money for Good Grief of Morristown that supports local families who have lost a family member.
For their inaugural season, home matches will be played at Fairleigh Dickinson University at Madison. STA will offer free admission for players and parents to grow their fanbase easily in the first year.
More information about STA can be found at their website STA and their Twitter and Instagram pages. For additional information, visit WPSL.
The WPSL is in its 23rd season and is the largest women’s soccer league in the world with more than 125 clubs from coast-to-coast in 35 states. WPSL rosters feature elite collegiate, post-collegiate, international, and standout prep student-athletes. Many of the United States’ most accomplished women’s players have played in the WPSL, including household names such as Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Julie Foudy, and Brandi Chastain.
