MONTVERDE, Fla. — Montverde Academy announced this morning that it is revising its popular Montverde Soccer Academy Tournament (MAST) concept to focus its efforts on more of a domestic and international club competition at the school located just outside Orlando.

"The Montverde Academy Soccer Tournament (MAST) has been an extremely successful event over the course of the past six years," SIMA Director and Montverde Academy head coach Mike Potempa said. "As we have progressed as a program, it is quite evident that we need to make some changes and revise our concept in order to satisfy the most recent trends of our unique program."

Montverde Academy (Fla.) won all six years of MAST high school event, compiling an 18-0 record while taking on many of the nation's perennial winter high school powers.

This past January, while the eight-team high school event was playing out on the school's stadium field, the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy (SIMA) was hosting a four-team international bracket featuring the US Under-17 National Team and youth clubs teams from Flamengo of Brazil and Feyenoord of The Netherlands, in addition to the host. SIMA won the round-robin event.

To further the reach of the SIMA program, Montverde Academy is planning to expand the MAST international bracket in 2017-18. "The reason for expand our international bracket is to continue building upon the momentum created in our first international bracket concept in 2016," Potempa said. "There is a high demand for international teams from around the world to come to Orlando and play against top quality competition and we feel that the MAST will serve as the perfect venue to compete in front of our student body here at Montverde Acadmey."

Although the MAST high school event lasted only six years, it was the seminal winter boys soccer tournament that led to regional spin-offs such as the Lotto Sport Western Showcase in San Clemente, Calif., and North Texas Elite Showcase in Coppell, Texas. Both events came about after the respective host schools -- San Clemente (Calif.) and Coppell (Texas) -- competed at MAST.

The MAST first helped validate Montverde Academy's place in the national winter landscape. Over the years, teams from Arizona, California, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas joined the Florida programs at the event that drew large numbers of college coaches. Hawaii was the lone winter-playing state to never have a MAST representative.

"We have thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the evolution of the MAST since its inception in 2011-12," Potempa said. "Its not to say that the MAST is going away completely by any means, but simply moving in a different direction as we head into the future afforded to us by the tremendous success of the SIMA program."

Moving forward, SIMA officials have confirmed that they will continue to play the high school season as a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association and participate in local and regional tournaments, completing a 25-match schedule allowed by FHSAA rules and regulations. However, this year the MAST will not be part of the regular high school schedule as Montverde Academy will play out the regular season along side of the MAST event in January 2018.

"It just seems like yesterday we started this event, but now ending the six annual event, it is sad to end one chapter on the high school series but to open a new chapter of the event," tournament director Brad Long said. "It has been great to showcase student athletes in front of a large amount of college coaches so they can be seen. To hear the success stories from high school coaches of their experience at the event and the scholarships that their players were offered due to the MAST is a great touch. I am sad to step down as tournament director of the MAST, as I know I will always be there to support all players and coaches, but know that SIMA will do a great job in the next steps in the tournament."

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