Beadling SC joins the Girls Academy League
Share this post:
Beadling SC, an established soccer club in Western Pennsylvania, is starting to gain traction as one of the top clubs in the country.
On Friday, Beadling announced that it would be joining the newly formed Girls Academy League as a part of its inaugural Mid-America conference for the upcoming season. The local soccer club will join 11 teams from Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana.
“I think we finally got the recognition that we’ve deserved over an elongated period of time,” Beadling SC club president Denny Kohlmyer said. “We’ve been the most successful club here in PA West since I’ve been the president for 35 years, and I think (the GA) recognized the success we’ve had on the girls side and the consistency as well.”
“This is something that’s happened over time, and these people recognized the quality of players we have here.”
Beadling SC is proud to be one of the inaugural members of the Girls Academy.#NewWave #Unison #TopPeople #TopPlayers #Topclubs #EliteDevelopment https://t.co/rCo5vUZvRy
— BeadlingSC (@BeadlingSoccer) April 25, 2020
After the sudden closing of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy earlier this month, the Development Player League announced the launching of a new level of competition called the Girls Academy League. It includes old DA clubs and new ones like Beadling SC, which was named the 69th-best girls soccer club in America by soccerwire.com in March.
The league consists of six conferences across the country: Southwest, Frontier, Mid-America, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast. As of Monday, the GA had announced members of three of those conferences.
We are excited to announce The Girls Academy Southwest Conference for the 2020/2021 Season. We can’t wait to see these girls battle it out on the field. #TopPeople #TopClubs #NewWave #Unison pic.twitter.com/iMcvTTi3GH
— The Girls Academy (@GAcademyLeague) April 25, 2020
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT. We are excited to announce the first initial clubs committed to participating in the GA Northeast Conference. We welcome the clubs, their families and their staff! #NewWave #TopPlayers #TopPeople #EliteGirlsSoccer #Empower #Unity pic.twitter.com/FUOODt8sCK
— The Girls Academy (@GAcademyLeague) April 23, 2020
So far, the Mid-America has the most teams with 12. The Northeast conference has eight members, and the Southwest conference has 10. The Southeast, Frontier, and Mid-Atlantic conferences have yet to be announced.
Kohlmyer said Beadling has been looking to join leagues like the GA for quite some time. With the move to the GA, Beadling will have to raise its talent on several levels and Beadling’s executive director of soccer operations Joenal Castma believes it will only help the players.
“The level of competition will essentially elevate the players, which will also continue to prepare them for the collegiate level,” Castma said. “It will also elevate as coaches. We’ll be forced to drive our coaching potential higher. We’ll be forced to coach at a higher level. For me, I live for this stuff. I’m excited for it, and I think this will push us to that next level and push us to that new bar.”
The coronavirus pandemic creates a little uncertainty about the immediate future. But the league will play 22 games: 11 at home and 11 on the way. But no matter when play begins, Kohlmyer believes the future looks bright.
“This is a unique opportunity for us, and I think it’s well deserved,” Kohlmyer said. “Somebody recognizes that over time that this program, which is very close to me since my grandchildren are now fifth-generation Beadling players, my grandfather played in the early 1900s and it’s a great honor to be recognized.”
Beadling will have five teams in the league with age groups ranging from 14- to 19-year-olds.