Soon, he’ll be playing for a new coach with new teammates at the University of Delaware, vying for time on a college-level soccer team. But on a recent afternoon, the Canton High grad could be found training by himself at his old school.

Bobbing his head to music playing through his headphones, Canton’s Nick Ainscough casually flicked a ball off his heel high above his head, then wheeled around so the ball connected with the outside of his right foot. The shot missed high and wide left, but he was still smiling, rapping along to the hip-hop on his phone.

The 18-year-old outside back may be one of the best soccer players to have ever walked the halls at Canton High, yet he never played a minute on the school’s varsity team. Rather, Ainscough is a product of club soccer.

When he moved to Canton from Maine 11 years ago, Ainscough joined New England FC, then moved to the Boston Bolts. Joining the team involved a 10-month commitment, and Ainscough and his Bolts teammates weren’t able to get waivers to play high school soccer.

The story is a familiar one to Ian Hennessy, Ainscough’s coach at Delaware.

“As a whole, we’re moving away from the high school culture,’’ he said. “The majority of the guys [on the team] would not have played high school.’’

As Hennessy tells the tale, the change was set in motion in 2007 when US Soccer, the sport’s governing body here, created its development academy program to keep up with international standards. Anyone familiar with the sport at the international level knows that most of the world’s elite players started at academies run by professional clubs. Now, the best youth players from the United States are doing the same.

Ainscough’s father, Brian, coached at Northeastern University for nearly a decade and is now head coach of the Bolts’ Player Development League team. The elder Ainscough, born in Ireland, played professionally in the United States.

Alex Ainscough, Nick’s older brother, is following in his father’s footsteps. Having played professional soccer in Iceland last year, he’s going through preseason camps in the Netherlands in the hope of making a team there.

Nick’s love of the game grew as he watched his father’s practices and his brother’s games. He first picked up the game at the age of 3, then joined Coastal United (Maine) shortly after that, playing for an under-9-year-old team when he was 5.

Ainscough has used the past month to refine his basic skills. Having sustained a minor stress fracture in his heel earlier in the summer, he’s mainly concerned with staying healthy and getting in game-ready shape.

“I’ll come here in the morning and then go to the gym and get my running done,’’ he said of his daily schedule, which hasn’t changed much over the past eight years, but will when he reports at Delaware.

“Their own preparation is key,’’ said 10-year Delaware coach Hennessy of his players. “When they arrive, it will be eight weeks of madness.’’

Sarahkate Norton of East Bridgewater has already been through the madness.

Norton wrapped up her freshman campaign last year at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie team. The Division 4 Globe Player of the Year in 2014, she was one of 12 freshmen on the team, but wasn’t intimidated by the prospect of jumping to a Division 1 college.

“Our coach had told me he wanted to make a change to the program’’ she said. “That drew me in because I wanted to be on a team dedicated to winning.’’

Her impact was immediately positive. After a 3-13-1 finish the previous year, the Bobcats were 8-8-1 during Norton’s first year.

Like Ainscough today, Norton had little inkling of her role or how much playing time she’d get. For many young athletes used to being the best player around, this can be the biggest, and most difficult, adjustment to make at the college level.

“It was just about listening to what the team needed,’’ she said.

As a center back, largely a defensive role, Norton is used to flying under the statistical radar. Consequently, the prospect of having to earn her time on the field was a motivator and not a deterrent.

“It’s not about you, it’s about what’s good for the team,’’ she said. “I’m able to change my style of play . . . and I’m pretty coachable, too.’’

Eager for her sophomore season, Norton has maintained a fitness program much like Ainscough’s. Twice a week, she also played for the Hawks of the Eastern Massachusetts Women’s Soccer League to maintain her control of the ball and feel for the game, which her summer coach, Pat Federici of Plympton, believes is her best attribute on the field.

“She has anticipation,’’ he said as his team played its final game of the season late last month.

“A lot of players have skill,’’ said Federici, “but if you came and saw her play twice a week, you’d see why she was Division 4 Player of the Year.’’

Sam Boyles can be reached at samuel.boyles@globe.com.