It’s already been a busy summer for Florida’s Montverde Academy, one of the emergent preeminent developers for youth soccer talent in the nation. And it’s about to get even busier. 

The Orlando-area program, which hasn’t lost a game to high school competition since coach Mike Potempa took over for the 2010 season, launched its lauded SIMA program almost a year ago. That developed under Potempa’s watchful gaze, but it also included a partnership with former Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard that helped it become one of the top residency programs in the nation.

This summer, Montverde is continuing its typically frenetic pace. The program just completed a recent 3 1/2 day camp that included coaches from programs like Clemson, FIU(m) and UNC Wilmington. In keeping with Montverde’s aim to compress cost at every opportunity, the camp only required a $5 registration fee for its campers.

But that was just the appetizer for the international entree. The school on Tuesday began hosting the Brazilian U17 national team for a 10-day camp. Brazil is currently gearing up for an international tournament in Mexico, and through a series of connections, Montverde was able to bring them to their glittering Central Florida campus. Especially on the heels of the World Cup, Brazil’s recent arrival at Montverde has generated some palpable buzz.

“Any time you can host the Brazilian national team on your campus, it’s definitely exciting,” Potempa said. “At that age group, as they prepare for international competition, we’ll be hosting some of the best young players in the world. They’re bringing in all their players from Europe and Brazil, so we’ll get a chance to see the best talent.”

For a select few Montverde Academy players, the experience won’t stop at visuals. Montverde will play the Brazilian U17 team on Thursday, an arrangement that should help both the Brazilians prepare and the American program to gauge its progress, which has been prodigious under Potempa’s stewardship.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to play the Brazilian national team on our home campus, on our field,” Potempa said.

Montverde’s relationship with Brazil will extend to the Brazilian U15 national team, which will use Montverde’s campus to train from Sept. 1-10 later this year. It’s no surprise that they’ve decided to use Montverde’s facilities considering their expansion over the last few years. In addition to the normal facilities, Montverde also recently opened the nation’s first Cruyff Court earlier this year. It’s a smaller enclosed field aimed at improving close-quarters control and cultivating more technicality.

On that score, Montverde is humming along at top speed. The high school program finished the season earlier this year with a 21-0-1 record, which extended the program’s nation-best unbeaten streak to 96 games spanning four years and four national championships. Gilford High School (New Hampshire) set the national record in 1997 with 133 consecutive games without a loss, meaning if it keeps up its current pace, Montverde can snap the record in 2016. The program is already No. 3 on the all-time list.

The SIMA program is also growing. The program, which brings together an international group of players outside the high school program in an intense residency development rubric, started with 4o players in August 2013. Entering its second year, the program has ballooned to more than 100.

“To grow that amount in such a short amount of time, people are valuing what we’re doing, they’re seeing results,” Potempa said. 

In the past year, the SIMA program hosted Rijkaard for the first time, played the U17 MNT, took an international trip to face Ajax, Herenveen, Vollendam in the Netherlands and pushed all 14 high school seniors onto scholarship soccer at the college level. For Potempa, the next step is producing some direct-to-professional players.

“In the first year, I think it couldn’t have gone any better for what we thought it could be and what we’re doing,” Potempa said. “We look forward to taking the next step next year and continuing to improve something that’s pretty unique.”

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ECNL Girls N. Atlantic Players to Watch

Women's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

Hornets Add 7 on National Signing Day