ALBANY, NY (September 9, 2020)---Black Watch Soccer Club Inc./ Black Watch Premier (BWP) is excited to announce the signing of a land lease on the campus of Schenectady County Community College (SCCC). This will give Black Watch Premier/ BWP Albany a home facility to operate its programming for the boutique soccer Club. It will also provide the students of SCCC a place to develop their talents. The property will grow into a year-round, world-class training center that will include an indoor synthetic surface and 4-basketball courts/futsal courts and lighted fields, both natural and synthetic. 

“Our players and technical staff are deserving of a workspace that allowed them to reach for the stars,” said Steve Freeman, CEO and President of BWP.  “Our new facility will increase opportunities and create a greater density of high performing athletes as we try to push our goals even higher towards personal and collective excellence.”

 Garrett Cobb, the Club’s Director of Coaching - Girls says:

“With the addition of this wonderful new facility, we have the ability to help serve the local population in unprecedented ways. This state of the art facility is a game-changer for any young player looking to improve their game.  We have been providing excellent training to players for the past 25 years, and now we will elevate that to the next level. It will benefit not only the boys but also our girls in our Club as well as the entire Capital Region and beyond!”

Danilo Markovic, the Club’s Director of Grassroots, says:

“The addition of a facility for Black Watch Premier as a Club is nothing short of incredible. Our new home will provide kids in the Club to grow and develop in a big way. The facility will cement a feeling of a place being ours more than anything. When looking at top clubs around the United States, and the world, players in the academies have a place to go to where they train, socialize, and develop a sense of responsibility and belonging. Our kids will now have the opportunity to do the same. It is a very exciting moment for the Club, we are all thrilled to keep building Black Watch Premier and maximizing the development of the players in the Capital Region.”

The 12-acre athletic complex is slated to be built behind the college in between I-890 I-890 and the Mohawk River. BWP and Schenectady County have agreed to a 25-year lease agreement with the county to build and utilize the facility, with an opportunity for a 25-year renewal term in the future.

Black Watch Soccer Club Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit, has been in operation for 24 years and is incredibly proud of its history in the region as a developer of elite youth soccer players. Many players go on to compete collegiately and beyond. Black Watch Premier/BWP Albany has remained a Nike Premier Soccer Club since 1999 and has had over 550 players play collegiate. Black Watch Premier was founded in late 1996 by the current President/CEO Steve Freeman. The Club also received historic news a few weeks ago about its acceptance into the new Major League Soccer youth academy platform MLS Next, allowing players to compete on the national-level week in and week out.

For more information, check out the Club's website www.blackwatchsoccer.com or contact Steve Freeman, BWP President/CEO at sjfreeman5@gmail.com or 518.461.9050.