So who are you and what's your personal background in soccer?

My name is Robbie McCray and I am the owner/general manager of Northshore United. I started playing soccer at U8 when some friends from my school basketball team invited me to play club. I've been involved with soccer in some form for the last 30 years.

How did you get involved with Northshore United?

I created United with the idea of having friends to stay fit over the summer between club/school seasons. The secondary reason was that no outlet existed for players who wanted to continue playing competitive soccer within our area after their youth club career concluded. I heard about it all the time from players and parents so I decided to do something about it.

Last season your club finished runner up, losing narrowly in the final, can you talk about the success last year?

We saw more success from year 2 to year 3 and most of the success came from better organization. Mostly on my part of controlling what I could control and also getting the right people in the right positions to manage the team better.

How can the club go further next year?

We have a lot of options in front of us at the moment to bring about changes to our club. My goal is to not make any negative steps. We hope that any moves, even laterally, will be positive. The club will evolve naturally move forward either way.

Two of your players made the Best 11 for the league last season, can you talk about these players and what makes them special?

Mason Robicheaux and Zac Breaux come to mind first. Maybe it's because both made the GCPL Top XI, but that's something we saw every day and it was no surprise they received league recognition. Mason had growth in both mind and body following his first year at Appalachian State. He came back a completely different player, but was still just a great, openly honest player. I felt he made the difference in several games. The coaching staff felt he listened and responded to everything they suggested to him.

Zac Breaux was the first player that I called to invite him to play without ever meeting him or seeing him play. After a good conversation over the phone I knew he would fit right in with the other guys. Zac gave us many game-winning goals and always energized at practice and games. He, like Mason, are the beating heart of the team. The team is better with when both guys are involved.

What about Covington generates this type of talent?

I don't think it's any one thing. I think it's probably a mixture of good family environments and quality youth club coaching that sets the Northshore apart. We had several players willing to travel two plus hours three times a week for training and games because they wanted to be apart of what we're doing.

Can you talk about the history of the club?

We're still a young club so there's not much history to share. We have made progress in our short existence in the in making playoffs and the GCLP final as well as the creation over our United Academy program. The idea of United Academy was that we would integrate younger players into first team sessions. You may see a match up of a high school sophomore against a college sophomore. The experience for the younger player is valuable to his growth.

I recently heard a story from one of our UA parents telling me about his sons first training session with our Academy team. The player was a high school sophomore goalkeeper at the time and there was a play in the box which seemed routine for him so he jogged over to scoop up the ball. He was then bested by striker who he didn't think could cover the ground. The striker took the ball from him and finished with a simple open net goal. The more experienced striker give the young keeper a pat on the back and told him to get used to the speed. During the next water break, the two spoke again and the striker continued to offer encouragement to the younger player to always be aware and keep his head in the game. An experience for the young guy that he'll never forget which was due to our choice to challenge young players. One of many opportunities for growth that may not have occurred if not for our club.

How would you describe the GCPL to those not familiar with your league? Who are your biggest rivals?

The GCPL is a hyperlocal/regional league which focuses on young, talented players. The better talent seen in the GCPL is equal to if not better than the supposed more elite national leagues. No rivals yet. I've heard some teams dislike playing us. Take-a-number I guess.

Anything else we should know about Northshore United?

We want to continue to grow and find success in what we're doing regardless of the league we're playing in. We will continue to focus of training and push for growth in knowledge of the game. That will always be our number one goal.