BOXFORD — Practice at Pine Grove Elementary School had finished, but the spectacle was forthcoming.

North Shore United midfielder Amadu Kunateh sprinted 20 yards before leaping over a teammate standing upright; an unfathomable vertical jump.

"Did you see that?" Norman James, the head coach and North Shore United (NSU) boys soccer director asked. There was an awe-inspired grin on his face, one that was amazed by his players capabilities and their youthfulness.

"I love these guys," James said. "They keep me young."

For a team with so much talent, so many accomplishments, everyone seems to enjoy themselves. Yet watching them play, their technical prowess presents itself; switching the field with ease, playing one-touch soccer through congestion.

Signs of a championship squad.

A year after becoming the first boys club team from the North Shore area to ever win the Massachusetts Premier Soccer League (MAPLE) state championship, the Under-13 NSU squad defeated Benfica, 3-0, in the 2009 State Cup championship game. I doing so, they became the first North Shore-based team — boys or girls — to ever win back-to-back championships.

In five State Cup games, NSU outscored its opponents, 13-1, conceding the lone goal on a penalty kick.

Earlier this week, James and Co. travelled to Huntington, W.Va. for the US Youth Soccer Region I (East) Championships, which began yesterday and runs through Tuesday. The regional tournament is comprised of State Cup champions and select runners-up from 15 state soccer associations.

Yet hardware does not legitimize progression, NSU President Stefano Franciosa said.

"Winning a state title," he said, "to me, it's great for the kids. But personally, I couldn't care about the state title. I care more about how much better these kids are getting. What type of confidence these kids are getting. What can I do for them moving forward in developing and moving forward in soccer."

The modus operandi has been development since Franciosa started the club back in 2003; technical, tactical, physical and mental. Though the club's original five teams experienced little success during its inaugural season (NSU has 15 teams now, according to its website), Franciosa's influence in 2009 is undeniable.

Sixteen of the 17 seniors on NSU's U-18 boys squad are playing collegiate soccer next fall. Notre Dame sophomore defender Aaron Maund, of Dorchester, played for Franciosa growing up. In March, Maund competed in the CONCACAF Championships with the United States U-20 National Team.

"Seeing the end of my work and the beginning of somebody else," Franciosa said, "is something special."

The U-13 squad's progression is illustrated explicitly (a 23-2 combined record in MAPLE fall and spring seasons and US Youth Soccer's Region I Northeast Regional League) and humanly.

Sierra Leone, Albania, Columbia, Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Venezuela and Greece are all represented on the roster.

"The boys are being exposed to diverse people," said Franciosa, a native of Italy. "They are learning something different. They see other cultures. They see how it is."