Who We Are

United Soccer Training Academy is a Federally recognized 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit corporation founded in November of 2005. Raymond A. Hassey, Esq., Academy President, and Robert C. Zanicky, Esq., Director of Football Operations, founded the organization to provide professional level soccer training to children throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. From its inception, USTA has been committed to providing sporting opportunities for boys and girls that show an aptitude for the game of soccer regardless of the child's socio economic background. In fact, USTA has created a number of need based scholarships for children whose families could not afford their child to participate in high level training and matches, but for said scholarships.

The following people presently serve on our Board of Directors: Raymond A. Hassey, President; Robert C. Zanicky, Academy Director, Phil Brogan, International Academy Director, Michael Bridy, Mick Cronin and Andy Gegaris. Presently, our regional teams consist of almost 200 players, from families participating from just over the New York border, to the Easton Allentown Area, and all of Northeastern Pennsylvania. A large portion of our families are from the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre areas.

Our Mission and Journey

In November of 2009, USTA's Domestic Board of Directors voted to begin a number of international social projects in Africa and South America. Bob Zanicky traveled to Brazil to lay the ground work for the creation of a soccer academy and a Christian educational institution deep in the heart of the favelas of Rio De Janeiro. Through his efforts the Academy created a relationship with Clube Atletico De Mage of Rio. Former professional player, and born again Christian, Alexandre Pires founded the Club to provide a safe haven for children that lived in neighborhoods where drugs and violence are a way of life. He strives to use sport as a way to minister to young children and offer them hope.

It was clear soon after their meeting that Coach Pires and Bob Zanicky shared a number of core values. It is from these values that the relationship between Club Mage and USTA was formed. To date USTA has provided Club Mage and its players with more than $10,000.00 in equipment and more than $2,000.00 in financial support. These monies were used to purchase meals for the players before and after training. For some of the children these meals may be the only real nutrition they received that day.

In January of 2010, Bob Zanicky, along with Phil Brogan of Manchester United, traveled to the Sekondi-Takoradi region of Ghana, West Africa with a staff of four. The goal of the trip was to offer the impoverished children of the region an oasis from their daily hardships by using professional training opportunities to draw them to the clinic. During the ten day clinic, USTA worked with more than 1800 children, served more than 3000 meals, housed more than 400 players at the Sekondi-Takoradi National Stadium, and handed out more than $15,000.00 in new equipment. We also helped families pay for their children's secondary schooling and donated money for the purchase of livestock. You can see a news story produced by Skyy Sports News Africa here.

The staff was awed by the talent. It soon became clear that these boys were only limited by one barrier, opportunity. Bob and Phil immediately determined that USTA had to set up a residential academy in Ghana to help enrich the lives of these children through sport. Their intention was, and is, to use sport to eliminate poverty's barricade and provide the boys with the opportunity they lack - with education and proper nutrition being the key components. USTA intends to eliminate many of the socio-economic barriers faced by our players and provide them with miracle opportunities in life and in the sport of soccer - free of the exploitation so often associated with the present soccer academies throughout Africa.

What started out as a stand alone soccer clinic quickly transformed into a lifetime mission. When asked about his first experience in Ghana, Bob noted "The trip was transformative. I traveled to Ghana as a coach and administrator, but soon found myself and our other coaches acting as vessels of hope. The entire experience was incredibly humbling. I found my calling on those fields, under that sun, surrounded by children that had very little and asked for less. Their joy in the midst of what I considered hopelessness was astonishing. I knew almost immediately that I had to return. That to abandon these boys would be to abandon my upbringing and values. I knew that USTA would be a vessel through which we could change and even save lives."

In Ghana, USTA has established relationships with local officials and developers in Sekondi-Takoradi, whom have made facilities available to us to start our Ghana academy. Our Ghanaian Academy director is Coach Isaac Paha. Coach Paha is a national soccer hero in Ghana and a heavily credentialed international coach. He brings instant credibility and continental clout to our program and brings USTA a recognizable and popular image to the players and families we will serve throughout Ghana and West Africa.

As a result of the great success and potential of the initial Ghana trip, Phil Brogan has elected to leave Manchester United and has assumed responsibility as USTA's International Academy Director. He adds a level of recognizable professionalism and credibility to USTA that most youth sports organizations cannot match. Read more about Phil here.

In July 2010, USTA returned to Brazil, with both Zanicky and Brogan leading the effort to build the relationships necessary to duplicate the success we have had in Ghana. The trip has proven fruitful. Because of Phil Brogan's involvement, and his international reputation, USTA has secured commitment offers from Club Flamengo, Brazil's premiere professional team, to work with our Academy. Relations were also established with Club Duque de Caxias and also Sepucaia Youth soccer academy, as well as the Serrano and Santa Cruz Futbol Clubs. Because of our Christian foundation, we received a commitment from a Christian benefactor who will provide housing facilities for up to 60 players. While more work needs to be done to solidify our vision in Brazil, we are confident that USTA will be established in Brazil within a year.

In August 2010, the USTA staff returned to Ghana with the mission of establishing our academy in the Sekondi-Takoradi Region. Articles were prepared and filed incorporating USTA Ghana, Inc. as a registered NGO (non-governmental organization) effective August 7, 2010. The Board of Directors for USTA Ghana, NGO, are Raymond A. Hassey, Chairman, Robert Zanicky, 2nd Chair, Phil Brogan, Coach Isaac Paha, I.B. Clements and Qwasi Philip Nkramah. In addition to serving on our Board, Coach Paha will serve as our academy director in Ghana. His name and reputation, as well as his strong Christian faith and coaching ability, has made USTA Ghana an immediate success in identifying and attracting the best youth players in Ghana and from neighboring West African countries that face the same poverty and lack of opportunity.

Qwasi Philip Kwasi Nkramah is a reputable attorney and established official in Ghana. He is the former mayor of the Western Region of Ghana, and has been instrumental in handling our legal affairs and in building relationships within the region.

I.B. Clements is an established and extremely successful businessman in Sekondi. He is an engineer and premier builder and contractor, and is responsible for most of the modern development in the region. He has hosted our staff and provided accommodations for many of our prospective players. Mr. Clements recently built a Catholic Church, at no cost, in the Western Region of Ghana.

We believe the prominence of our Board of Directors, provides USTA a great opportunity to become the exclusive truly professional soccer training academy in Ghana. Because of this, we are being courted by Asante Kotoko Football Club, which is Ghana's premier professional soccer team. In the 2010 World Cup, Ghana's national team faired extremely well, reaching the quarterfinals and narrowly missing the semifinals as a result of one of the most notorious unsportsmanlike actions in the history of the game perpetrated by their opponent. Many of the professional coaches associated with the national team have asked to become affiliated with USTA Ghana. Likewise, Coach Paha has turned down the opportunity to work with the FA in the Cape Coast in favor of serving as the Academy Director of USTA Ghana, because he believes in the Christian Vision that USTA offers the children of Ghana. Interestingly, a large number of the players on the national team and on Ghana's Under 20 World Champion team have been coached by Coach Paha at some point in their career.

In addition to establishing our legal existence in Ghana, during our recent August 2010 trip, we also ran a second training and identification program for 14 days. We trained, housed and fed over 1,000 underprivileged youth players who traveled great distances to participate. Our academy scouts and trainers, including Phil Brogan of Manchester United and Jesus Gutierrez of Real Madrid, identified 94 players who will be invited to participate in our year round residential academy in Ghana. These young players will be housed and trained in facilities provided to us at the Sekondi National Sports Stadium. The local sports council has graciously offered us the use of this facility pending the construction of our own facilities. The local Ghanaian government is highly supportive of the plans for our Academy; they stand behind our plans and have offered any and all support that we require.

Once construction on our Ghanaian facility is complete, USTA will replicate our model in the countries of Zambia, Cameroon, Uganda, Nigeria and The Ivory Coast. We have contacts in each of these nations that are rabid to see us bring USTA to their country. Each Academy Site will provide players with three meals per day, a modern living dormitory, education, transportation to and from school, medical care, clothing, access to professional clubs and educational opportunities at private high schools, colleges and universities around the globe. Our educational network is already under construction in the United States, with a number of private high schools, colleges and universities involved. The top academic performers will have the option of coming to the United States to receive an education at one of our affiliate schools.