Yes, I have since found out that is true. Confusing and not actually true in a meaningful way. The Wave (and others ) won't be joining a 16-year-old league.
I have known Coach Tozer since 2001...and this day (well really the last few weeks leading up to it) make me sick. Yes I know coaches get fired all the time in sports...but Tozer was the Wave. No offense to any of the players, but he was the most recognizable figure on a team that barely got a sniff from the local media, except when there is controversy. I have no clue what the future holds (league, staff, players) but everything that has transpired over the last 6 plus months has pissed off a lot of long time loyal fans and puts a huge black eye on a franchise that has struggled for years to get local mainstream attention.
black, simply put was the wrong person to give the wave to. she clearly did not have the deep pockets lindenburg had, and she has gotten herself , and by extension, the team, into trouble by not repaying her loans. coaches come and go, players the same. but in a sport that regularly sees teams fold after a year or two, to have the consistency and longevity the wave have had is remarkable, and that was due in very large part to Tozer. i've known coach tozer for several years, my dad played on the same college soccer team he did- he was a defensemen, Tozer was a forward.. i remember being at the Bradley Center in 1999 for game 5 of the finals against the cleveland crunch, and watched the wave beat the pants off the crunch 19-6 to win the title. that place was packed and loud that night. while the titles won since haven't had the same luster - the title when the league only had 5 teams applies- but theres no denying tozer can still coach. i hope he catches on elsewhere in the league. who wouldnt want a coach with 6 titles and nearly 750 wins to his resume?
From the Journal-Sentinel... "Keith Tozer, the face of the Milwaukee Wave, plans a news conference on Tuesday to discuss his departure from the franchise. In a text to the Journal Sentinel, Tozer said it had been a difficult time for him and his family. The Wave announced Friday that the franchise had parted ways with Tozer after 22 seasons. Tozer said the news conference would be held at 10 a.m. in the east atrium of the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Tozer has not commented on the situation involving with the Wave. The franchise is not affiliated with the old Major Indoor Soccer League and is apparently attempting to connect with the Professional Arena Soccer League. The Wave also is attempting to secure a new lease to play at the U.S. Cellular Arena."
what about Mark Linton I know he's the goal keeper coach and I thought he was the assistant coach he has been around long enough and he knows the game inside and out .
Minor league sports teams only get season-long attention from the local media when they advertise a lot with them. Otherwise they'll cover you when they can, when something big happens or when they need a community oriented piece and your team has done a charity thing. As for this Tozer guy, he's going to find out the ability to coach an indoor soccer team is no longer a skill worthy of the income he was making. Now if he was generating sufficient income from sponsors, camps etc I guarantee you he wouldn't have been fired. My son really, really wants to be a broadcaster. I tell him the key to getting in to the booth is to sell more tickets than the other guys out there.
None that they have announced yet. My money would be on a former player. Most likely Gino, since he has been the assistant the past 2 seasons. Or maybe Mark Pulisic, I think he is also still in the area, and had success coaching in Detroit.
Jeff, coach Tozer was responsible for building the Wave summer camp program into the successful program that it was. He grew a program of only 100 or so kids a summer, to over 4000 kids and $500,000 in gross revenue. Additionally, every single year he was responsible for bringing in some of the major corporate sponsorship deals. His job went well beyond just coaching this team. He did everything. EVERYTHING. So your statement is mis-informed. I know exactly what happened. And I was not let go from the team. I am resigning this week. I am loyal to Coach Tozer. I don't agree with anything that has transpired over the last several weeks/months. I will not stay with something that he build, but is no longer a part of. It was a great 10 year run, but I will be moving forward, and staying by Coach Tozer's side.
Yeah I already had looked at the logo soup on the team's sponsor page. I'm surprised you didn't send an intern to McDonalds to buy lunch for the team, then say that McDonalds was a "corporate partner". Way more than half those companies paid your team $0. In fact I'd bet the team PAID that list of companies more than those companies paid the team. If the " EVERYTHING" he did included sponsors .....
Do not judge anything by what you may have seen this past season. That does nothing to define the situation. And your response to this post, and several others lends me to believe that you are fairly negative about anything related to any team playing any sport in any country. With that being said, you fit right into this board. Enjoy the bashing...
I've been his assistant coach/goalkeeper coach for the last 10 years. If anyone knows Coach Tozer, I do.
Sometimes we forget that we're talking about real human beings on this forum. I'm the same age as Coach Tozer and started my current job the same year he began as coach of the Wave, 1992. I would be absolutely devastated if my employer let me go, and I have not done nearly as much for my employer as Coach Tozer did for the Wave. This must be a very difficult time for Coach Tozer and his family, and I hope people have compassion for him, in addition to respect for all he has done for the Wave and the sport of indoor soccer.