Man, do I love posting stuff like this. Gills manager Mark Stimson is continuing his efforts to strengthen his squad by taking a look at a number of trialists in the reserves. ... The fifth trialist is American striker Roland Benedict, who played the last quarter of an hour after replacing Haber. Benedict will always be better known for his Dad though - American actor Dirk who played Face in the A-Team. Link: http://www.gillingham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=124291 Confirmation from the club: http://www.gillinghamfootballclub.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Reserves/0,,10416~1389111,00.html (He played against Kyle Davies in the match.) One Gillingham fan board has found him, but not much activity here: http://fansonline.net/gillingham/mb/view.php?id=46935 He's from Montana, where he kept busy: An overall and natural athlete, Benedict enjoys playing basketball, soccer, skiing and skateboarding. Benedict said he was encouraged to play baseball too, because he has a good swing at the plate, but that baseball was too boring for him to play and only went as far as t-ball. Instead, Benedict has concentrated on basketball and soccer in recent years. Link: http://www.bigforkeagle.com/articles/2007/01/26/sports/sports01.txt He graduated high school this year and had college plans: Byrd hopes the league can blossom into a professional development league, like the one he played in when he was with the Rage. For high school seniors like Whitefish’s Shane Widdifield and Matt Grinrod, who are both going to play at Colorado State University-Pueblo, and Bigfork’s Roland Benedict, who is going to play at the University of Redlands in California, the league is a great way to hone their skills and give them a taste of what’s to come. Link: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/rapids_begin_defense_of_state_championship/3651/ He's not on the Redlands roster, though: http://www.goredlands.com/sports/msoc/2008-09/roster According to IMDB, Roland is Dirk's youngest of three sons and a 1991. His mother is Toni Hudson, also an actress (who had roles in two outstanding 80s movies, "Young Doctors in Love" and "Just One of the Guys"). Not sure if or how Roland would get a work permit if it came to that, not that I know that he doesn't have access to an EU passport somehow. Finally, for the record:
1. This is so, so, so cool. 2. Work permit? According to wikipedia, his mom is an American actress. His dad obviously is.
Big Fork, eh? Pretty small Montana town without much of a soccer presence, and that's in a state without much of a soccer presence -- to compare, MT has always been the bitch to Idaho's daddy. I'll ask a friend who's a MT ODP coach to see if he's the poop or just got lucky with a trial.
I can't believe none of you sci-fi geeks made a reference yet to Dirk's role on the original Battlestar Galactica. And, of course, coffee nerds will tell you that his character's name on GA was Lt. Starbuck. I, of course, an neither a sci-fi geek nor a coffee nerd, so I don't know any of this.
Dirk was born in the States, but his given name was Niewohener and he has appeared on UK TV and in a German movie; he may have some bloodlines that can be usefully traced back to Europe. Here's a snip from an interview Dirk gave a while back, by the way: 10.) What’s next for Dirk Benedict? This fall I am accompanying my 18 year old son Roland on a trip to Europe. He is going to have a go at playing professional soccer (football over there). I will probably stay with him for 9 months to a year. Then….. I’m going to disappear. Link: http://acemarketingagency.com/dirk-benedict-interview.html
I don't know what's worse-- seeing this go one here, or admitting that I understand it all . . . FWIW, Dirk also has a recurring role in the new series, playing a political activist/terrorist turned politician . . .
Dirk appeared in a long running UK reality TV show called Celebrity Big Brother about 18 months ago and Gillingham is close to London so he'd be able to pick up work easy enough while his son lives the dream.
All I can say is that if Mr. T's son was having a trial with a football club, you can damn well bet it'd be a bigger club than Gillingham.
He's an '86 he needs to get his soccer career in gear already. http://www.nndb.com/people/227/000025152/
I suppose Dirk would like it if his son's plan to sign in England comes together: Striker Benedict, 18, played for Gillingham reserves in a 2-1 defeat to Southampton, watched by dad Dirk, who also starred as Lieutenant Starbuck in Battlestar Galatica. Dirk said: "Roland has played soccer since he was four years old and always wanted to play in England so I said 'let's go for it'. He is quite good." Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...8/Gillingham-A-Team-Face-life-League-Two.html
My friend who is a Montana ODP coach did not remember him. It sounds like he's a good high school/club player.
A few more news clips ahead of a reserve match against Palace today: Also on trial last week were Trevor Benjamin, Tyron Amory, Roland Benedict and Marcus Haber. Canadian striker Haber and American Benedict are both also expected to feature against Crystal Palace but Benjamin and Amory have not been invited back. Link: http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kol08/article/default.asp?article_id=48217 And from a blog, a small note: FACE JNR TO SIGN FOR GILLINGHAM? Link: http://www.4thegame.com/features/feature/223388/our_two_penneth.html
He must be good to have been invited back. I never thought of Montana to be real hot-bed for soccer but good for him.
I'm sure Gillingham's sponsors are loving all the attention this is generating. And, I'm sure keeping the sponsors happy would never, ever influence an on-field decision. This isn't to say that Face Jr. isn't a good player or isn't earning this on his own. He just might be. But I also wouldn't put it past a team, especially a smaller one, to stretch something like this out for all the publicity it can generate.
Whatever their reasons, Benedict didn't make the squad for the Palace match. Report: http://www.gillinghamfootballclub.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10416~1395921,00.html
There is a little know caveat in British labor law that exempts the children of A-Team cast members from having to get a work permit. I believe the Dukes of Hazzard is also covered.
It ain't and, apparently, he ain't a superstar from the backwoods either. Just goes to show -- there are plenty of American club players who could play abroad, at least on the reserve level, if they had (a) the means to take a year off and try out, and (b) no passport or work permit restrictions.
He'll have to keep looking: GILLINGHAM manager Mark Stimson has released triallist’s Marcus Haber and Roland Benedict following an unsuccessful two-week trial at Priestfield. Link: http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Gills-release-triallists-newsinkent16291.aspx?news=sport