The Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy (S.I.M.A.) upholds many goals that they hope to accomplish every year. Whether it be helping student-athletes compete at the collegiate level, or assisting them in their academic endeavors. According to Head Coach, Michael Potempa, the biggest goal of the S.I.M.A. Program is to show student-athletes from around the United States and around the world that they can achieve any dreams that their hearts desire. For S.I.M.A. Alumni Diego Campos and Rafael Santos, their dreams were finally realized after a long journey of persistent work and tremendous sacrifice!
On Monday, January 19, both Campos and Santos were selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft in Philadelphia. Santos graduated from MVA in 2014, selected by D.C. United, and Campos, also a 2014 MVA graduate, was selected by the Chicago Fire.
"Rafael and Diego were not only talented on the field, but excellent people off it, said Potempa. "Both of them were always extremely respectful, hard-working, and talented young men who grew tremendously throughout their years with us here at Montverde Academy."
It wasn't always easy for Santos and Campos.  Both came from abroad, Campos arrived from San Jose, Costa Rica, and Santos from Rio de Janerio, Brazil, and faced many difficulties at home. According to Potempa, it was the environment, the education, the discipline and simply the people of MVA who believed in them which ultimately helped them prosper despite their challenging upbringing.
"The coaches at Montverde Academy were essential in my formation as a player and student," said Santos. "The level is very high at MVA, in some ways much higher than college so it was easy to transition to the next level after I graduated."
According to Santos, he felt that he was more prepared than the other athletes that were apart of his Virginia Commonwealth University team because of the elite coaching at MVA. In his first collegiate season, he was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Rookie Team and was named NCAA All-America as a senior along with many other accolades through the years.
Campos also proved to be an elite player at the collegiate level. As a freshman at Clemson University, he received many accolades and saw several great moments such as the game-winning goal against Coastal Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014. Campos was also named to Clemson's Honor Roll for maintaining a 3.0 GPA or higher during the Spring semester om 2015. As a Junior, he was voted as the team's Offensive Player of the Year as well as garnishing All-ACC First Team honors in 2017.
"I truly believe I would not have been successful in college without the foundation I received at Montverde Academy," said Campos. "I always had this dream of going pro after college, and coach Potempa helped me believe in that dream and actually achieve it."
According to Santos and Campos, they have a lot of work ahead of them. Now that they have been selected to their respective MLS teams, their next dreams are similar in that they will now pursue to become starters for their teams and win a MLS cup.
The pair will now join the following student athletes from the SIMA program who were selected or currently playing with MLS clubs since 2013
- Diego Campos - Chicago Fire
- Rafael Santos - DC United
- Matheus Silva - San Jose Earthquakes
- Deybi Flores - Vancouver Whitecaps
- Hassan Ndam - New York Red Bulls
- Monday Bassey Etim - LAFC
- Moussa Sane - Orlando City SC
- Albert Dikwa - Orlando City SC
- Youmeni Gildas - Orlando City SC
Final Message from Coach Potempa
"We are extremely proud of Diego and Rafael and congratulate them in this moment of excellence. We wish them much success as they now live out what we dreamed of together when they were here at the Academy during their high school years. They both join a class of Montverde Academy alumni in MLS who have an exciting future ahead and continue to promote our philosophy of education and sport combined to prepare for life on and off the field."
