Alumni Achievement Award (2019): Paul Willis

Seacoast United Sports Club was founded in 1992 with the sole purpose of providing oportunities to soccer players of all ages and abilities in the Seacoast area. The management and ownership team, consisting of Paul Willis, President and CEO, Ian Burgess, VP and COO, and David Burgess, Director of Operations, have dedicated the past 25 years to provide opportunities and pathways to excellence for all age groups of athletes.

This passion and emphasis on making a difference has seen this small soccer club from Hampton, NH grow into one of the most reputable youth sports organiations in the entire country. Seacoast United Sports Club now provides soccer, baseball, softball, field hockey, lacrosse and football to over 12,000 athletes.

The Club has 11 facilities across New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine with a footprint that extends from Weymouth, MA to Bangor, ME. This year has been a watershed year for Seacoast United’s various sports and this is measured in several ways: The only soccer club in New England to offer every level of play for both boays and girls, the largest youth baseball organiation in New England, the largest field hockey organization in New England, and the only one to send three age groups to the National Cub Championship (CC). In addition to achieving some amazing accolades on the field, the club is currently working on several initiatives both from an economic standpoint (unemployment, job recritment and travel/tourism) as well as philathropic/societal issues (ageing population – NH, opiod crisis and teen suicide/mental illness).

Paul, a 1988 Wesleyan graduate was a member of the 1984 and 1985 Men’s Soccer team inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. He is married to 1987 graduate, Molly Simmons Willis.

David and Ian, are both natives of Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, England. Both were members of the 1994 Men’s Soccer team inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. David earned his undergraduate degree in 1997 and an MBA in 1999. Ian graduated in 1994 and is married to 1993 graduate Laura Malessa Burgess.