This time last season Northern Virginia Royals defender Mike Foss was coming off a successful trip to Cocoa, Florida with United Soccer Leagues Super Y-League ODP National Camps. Having played in the U17 division of the Super Y-League during the 2006 season, Foss had turned enough heads during the regular season scouting process to be invited to the invitation only ODP event.
There, amongst the high-end soccer training, Foss stood out as he has at GeorgeMasonUniversity this past fall – through his academics. While progressively harnessing his interest in journalism, Foss is now in his second season of USL Premier Development League competition with the Royals. Last season he logged over 900 minutes with the youthful side and in only five months time had gone from a prospective SYL talent to a practiced PDL defender.
All the while, Foss has depicted the climb of a player from the elite youth ranks to the collegiate level on USLSoccer.com – a peek inside the life of a, now 19-year-old, moving up the USL ladder in an attempt to play at the highest collegiate level, the highest amateur level and eventually the highest professional level in the United States.
This is the first edition of From the Inside for the 2008 season.
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Saturday, May 10: Northern Virginia 1 :: Hampton Roads Piranhas 0
Welcome back to the Inside! A lot has changed since I wrote my first entry this time last year. First and foremost, I’ve begun to grow facial hair consistently on my chin. This is a very exciting development that I will keep updating everyone on as it progresses. On the pitch everyone is a little bit older and hopefully a little bit wiser. After nine months playing collegiate soccer with George Mason I am no exception. With a full season of PDL and college soccer under my belt my hopes and expectations for this upcoming season are only higher.
The same can be said for my club, the Northern Virginia Royals. In the offseason, management came through and reinvented the team. Only six players from last year’s squad remain. Our club is now a more mature side. The Royals have a new look and a new pitch – partnering with Sprinturf, the official turf supplier of USL, to lay down a turf stadium field for us to open in June. We have new faces, a new field, new kits (though expect those neon yellow nightmares every now and again), but the question people keep asking me this spring has not changed.
Are you guys going to be any better?
I guess it is a fair question, though it usually feels like a shot below the belt. I simply reply, "Come watch and you tell me."
Last night, against defending regular season champion Hampton Road Piranhas, they came and saw. We conquered. A foul on our midfielder Oscar Berrios led to a quick restart that freed Adam Wilson down the left flank. Wilson touched the ball center to mid Max Griessbach. Max took one touch and found Dave Atkinson on a slotted pass into the middle.
Atkinson is the scariest one armed forward in the league. Dave sliced through the Piranhas box and tucked the ball away in the second minute of injury time.
It’s a great start for us. But it is only a start and we are all aware of that. This morning I awoke to an email from head coach John Pascarella saying congratulations and PS, every player needs to get in a recovery run in tomorrow because there is still practice this week and we still have 18 more games to play.
Come watch.
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Monday, May 19
The Royals of 2008 are significantly different from the Royals of 2007. The most obvious change is in age. We are collectively a much older team. I don’t think there is a clear advantage between younger or older teams. The big difference I’ve found is in the style of play.
Older, savvier players tend to let the play build over a series of passes whereas younger players tend to be more direct.
The younger, almost frantic style of our team last year helped prepare me for the college game. At the college level, players are extremely fit and extremely fast. The play reflects those characteristics. It is fast and physical. When I came back to the Royals from George Mason a few weeks ago, I was accustomed to the college pace.
Coming into training with the Royals for the first time this year, I was expecting a continuation of how we had been playing last year. But a quick survey of the new faces quickly altered my expectations. These new faces had wrinkles, some gray hair and a lifetime of experience.
With all successful teams there is a balance between young players and old players. The veteran players bring consistency and process to a team. They have been around the block a few times and they know how to handle themselves. Watching our older players like Dave Atkinson, Irad Young and Adam Wilson go to work each week in training has been constant lesson for me. Just by seeing how those guys prepare and stay healthy is inspiring.
Playing with Irad and Adam has left a particular impact on me since they are also George Mason alumni. Irad was starting his career at Mason the same year I was born. He is really, really old. I have found that talking with them and hearing their feedback has given me a new dimension as a player.
Soccer demands a player be mentally, physically, technically and tactically capable. It also demands some intangible things. You cannot teach passion or desire. You also cannot teach experience. Adam and Irad have presented themselves as a means of gaining that priceless experience. The Royals of 2007 prepared me for the intensity of the game at the next level. This year, the Royals are teaching me how to be a student of the game.
