One Man’s Opinion: Georgia to Get Quite a Kick By Bill Crane In 1972, the then-United States Olympic Committee (USOC) relocated its headquarters from New York City to Colorado Springs, Colorado. In the following decades, twenty-five amateur sports federations and training programs (each privately financed) also relocated their athletic training programs, athletes, and training staff to Colorado Springs. In 1978, a federal statute, the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports act, was enacted, creating a federally chartered nonprofit corporation that does not receive federal government financial support (other than for a select set of Paralympic military programs). The renamed United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) received exclusive rights to use and authorize the use of all Olympic-related images, marks, and trademarks. The USOPC then licenses those rights to sponsors and selected manufacturers as their primary revenue source, along with television broadcast rights to telecast the Winter and Summer Olympic Games every four years and related national and international trial competitions that precede each Olympic and Paralympic Games. Most other countries in the world, all of the Eastern Bloc, and our major sports competitors are funded by their governments, in all or part, with gifted athletes often used as props or elements of propaganda campaigns between Olympic Games. During the late 60s and early 70s, the National Professional Soccer League, and later the North American Soccer League, were attempting to launch a national professional soccer league across America. The Atlanta Chiefs were Georgia and the southeast’s entry in that league, including a season in 1973 as the Atlanta Apollos. Metro Atlanta and Georgia more successfully launched soccer as an amateur youth sport at the time,
which continues growing to this day. I played on YMCA and AAA high school soccer teams from early elementary through high school. I met many of the Atlanta Chiefs, attended a few of their player training camps, and even met global soccer star Pelé at an exhibition game. Those years of play instigated my soccer fandom, which lasts through today. Several other attempts at a national professional soccer league came and went until Major League Soccer (MLS) established a twenty-nineteam league (twenty-six in the U.S. and three in Canada). The MLS is a men’s professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, not too far from the headquarters of Major League Baseball and the NFL. The league and MLS team owners operate under a shared revenue model, and all teams have a salary cap on their rosters. Many youth soccer players from earlier decades are also continually fueling that fan base for the sport across the nation. Following that earlier example by the USOC relocating from New York to Colorado Springs, the headquarters of the USSF will be relocating from Chicago to Atlanta, thanks in large measure to a $50-million pledge and gift from Arthur Blank. U.S. Soccer plans to construct the nation’s first ever purpose-built and designated National Training Center for soccer, to be utilized by all twenty-seven of U.S. Soccer’s National Teams, as well as additional facilities for U.S. Soccer’s nine Extended National Teams (ENTs), including teams with athletes who have Cerebral Palsy, the Deaf and Power Soccer National Teams, and including locker rooms and training facilities designed to maximize accessibility for those players. In 2026, Atlanta and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium will play host to the FIFA World Cup Soccer Championship. The World Cup has a larger fan base and typically draws more international visitors than the Olympic Games. Though foreign-born players, mainly from Latin America and Europe, continue to fill the rosters of most MLS teams, often identified as the most skilled players, the U.S. has continually been upgrading the caliber of play and talent of our home-grown stock. Atlanta United operates a farm team system and a second franchise, frequently including a higher percentage of native-born American players. These new stateof-the-art U.S.-based training facilities coming to Atlanta should only expand the number and depth of those American players. The USSF headquarters and training center will require a large swath of land, leaning more towards a suburban or ex-urban site with interstate and quick airport access. The economic boon will later be measured in Continued on page 22
The program began in October 2022 at a temporary location. The ribbon-cutting marks the official opening of the new, permanent campus. Among the students who have found their learning home at GCAA is Shamyiah Lewis, who spoke at the event. Shamyiah moved to Georgia from New York By Our Town Gwinnett Staff halfway through her senior year. She felt out of place As the 2023-24 school year begins, in a traditional high school, and decided to drop out. students confronted with challenges Then she discovered Gwinnett County Acceleration that have sidetracked their educational Academies and hit her stride. aspirations have a new opportunity to “At first I was a bit nervous,” said Shamyiah, who earn their diplomas through a flexible, recently completed her diploma requirements and is personalized course of study. planning to study filmmaking in college. “But the On Tuesday, September 26, a ribteachers, they were really welcoming and they helped bon-cutting ceremony was held to introout a lot and I was able to get real comfortable.” duce Gwinnett County Acceleration “We are so proud of all that Shamyiah and her Academies (GCAA), which is working classmates are accomplishing,” says GCAA Director in partnership with the public school Hashima Carothers, a former college basketball standdistrict to offer a flexible, personalized out who emphasizes a team approach to education. curriculum to students who did not “We are looking forward to other students joining her succeed in traditional schools. The at our new campus. We are so grateful for the support event featured Gwinnett County Public Schools Superintendent: Dr. of Dr. Watts and his colleagues in helping us to make these young peoCalvin Watts, GCAA educators, and their students. ple’s dreams a reality.” “We are so excited to work with Dr. Watts and his colleagues to The Gwinnett school is part of a growing nationwide network of provide an option for young people who need a non-traditional path Acceleration Academies that operates campuses in Florida, Georgia, to their high school diploma and the brighter future it can bring,” said South Carolina, Texas, Kansas, Nevada, and Washington State. The Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of Acceleration Academies, academies re-engage students who have struggled in traditional schools Mark Graves. “As our growing number of graduates can attest, having for a variety of reasons, including the need to work full-time or care for the chance to pursue a personalized path to graduation enables young young children; the need for more one-on-one attention; or a desire to people to, as our motto says, #OwnYourSuccess.” Continued on page 22 PAGE 14 Become an Advertising Partner: Info@OurTown Gwinnett.com or 678-825-2049
Meet GCAA: New Academy Helps Students Re-Engage in Learning
