Paul Willis, center, founder of Seacoast United. Courtesy photo.
Paul Willis came to the United States on a college scholarship to play soccer. And his passion for the sport is now the basis for his thriving company, Seacoast United, which provides sports leagues throughout New England.
Initially, Willis parlayed his love of his native sport into a soccer camp for a couple of boys’ teams in Portsmouth in 1992. Fast forward 25 years and his company includes 11 facilities, the last of which opened in November, serving 40,000 athletes from ages 3 to 40 in NH, Maine and Massachusetts.
The 55,000-square-foot Epping complex opened in November and is Seacoast United’s second indoor facility. Other locations are outdoor fields throughout Northern New England. Seacoast United, which hosts soccer, baseball, softball and field hockey clubs and programs, and a 70,000-square-foot indoor sports facility in Hampton, built in 1997, that serves as its headquarters.
James Peterson, director of sales and marketing for Seacoast United, says the business was born from Willis’s tenacity. When Willis had the vision for the original facility but needed financing, several banks turned him down.
Finally, one bank agreed to loan him the fund contingent upon Willis securing commitments from 100 soccer teams first. Undaunted, Willis went back to the bank three months later with commitments from 200 teams, Peterson says.
The business has grown steadily since, including opening four outdoor turf fields on 40 acres in Epping in 2006 after years of renting field space. In addition to its soccer programs and clubs, Seacoast United boasts the largest baseball program—the Seacoast United Pirates— in the New England Elite Baseball League with 500 children, aged 10 to 18, participating on 35 teams, Peterson says. Seacoast United also claims to have the largest field hockey program in New England with 500 athletes.
“We’re hopeful in spring of 2018 we will have two more turf fields in Epping to not only play soccer but baseball and softball,” Peterson says.
Participation in its athletic programs can range from $800 per team for a 12-week adult league to $1,000 for an entry level, 10-month soccer program to $2,000 annually for its elite program for 17 and 18 year olds.
Peterson says Seacoast United plans to continue to expand.
“Paul would love to one day be in the position to have a minor league soccer team and a minor league baseball team. Looking to the future, in five years, that would be feasible,” he says. For more information, visit
seacoastunited.com.
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