The Oakes Training Facility, Oak Grove, Miss. –

The Southern States Soccer Club’s minor league soccer team, the Stars, today announced, Hattiesburg native Heath Flateau as its historic first signing.

Flateau was the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year in 2020 and played his ball at Sacred Heart in Hattiesburg before signing for NCAA-D1 the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

The Stars head coach Carl Reynolds moved swiftly to bring Flateau back to the club. As a youth and high school standout, Flateau had previously worked with Reynolds at the club’s Academy before briefly moving to Houston to join the Houston Dynamo’s youth squad.

Flateau says he is delighted to join up again with a coach and club he admires. “This is a fantastic honor. I am excited and blessed for this opportunity. Having previously trained and played with the Southern States youth team and now being able to play for their senior team is an incredible feeling. I can’t wait to get out onto the pitch this summer”. Flateau will join up with the Stars following his season at UAB this spring.

The Stars play in the National Premier Soccer League’s Gulf Coast Conference. The summer league season runs from May through July. Games will be played at the club’s Oakes Training Facility in Oak Grove. Construction is currently ongoing at the site and slated to be completed in April. There will be custom designed locker rooms, a medical room, players’ lounge, fitness room, media, and VIP areas. Fans of the Stars will have an opportunity to buy tickets in the coming months for all seven regular-season home games.

Asked why he had been so keen to sign, Flateau was forthright. “The coaching staff and the atmosphere at the Oakes really pushed me to sign. I love the culture of the club. I want to be a part of it. I know coach Reynolds will help me and every player grow in skill and knowledge of the game”.

These are exciting times for Pine Belt area soccer players as the Stars set about recruiting a team to compete on the national stage. The NPSL is a 94-team league with the Stars playing in the South Region. They will compete in the Gulf Coast Conference against teams from Jacksonville, Florida to New Orleans and places in between.

For more information on Southern States Soccer and the Stars go to www.3Ssoccer.com or find on Facebook, or follow on Twitter.

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