Finding Players for the Team

On Nov. 9th approximately 20 members of Real Salt Lake’s first official supporter’s club, the Loyalists, met with Trey Fitz-Gerald, the Senior Director of Marketing & Communications for RSL. He discussed upcoming events and decisions about the team and answered Loyalists’ questions for about 45 minutes. Here is a summary of what he discussed. For the complete article, please go to www.TheLoyalists.com where the article will be available soon.

As soon as John Ellinger was announced as the head coach for the team, players from all over started talking about how they’d love to play for him again. According to Fitz-Gerald, some players approached him saying, “You have to get me to Salt Lake. I’d love to play for Coach Ellinger again.” When Fitz-Gerald asks people what they have liked about working with Ellinger, they always say he’s sometimes blunt but always honest, so players always know where they stand with him. Some of the biggest names in MLS soccer, including Freddy Adu, Landon Donovan and DeMarcus Beasley, have stated how much they enjoyed playing with Ellinger as coach.

Ellinger has been traveling around the U.S. recently, scouting possible players for the team. He is hoping to build a team that will be young, fast, take advantage of the turf and altitude, and be accessible to the community. Fitz-Gerald commented that the vast majority of players are very good, solid citizens that will fit in well with the Utah community.

There will not be any open tryouts, but interested players are encouraged to send in video footage, newspaper clippings, etc. for review. There will be an invitation-only tryout for local and regional players who have caught the coach’s eye. Fitz-Gerald specifically mentioned hearing about one local player in a Latin league that he described as “phenomenal.” He said that the local Latin leagues are being watched and that RSL should be a unifying force for the different soccer leagues in the area. They have also been meeting with local youth clubs and coaches, trying to bring everyone together.

 

Thank you.

He may have been referring to Trey, though? In which case, "he" would certainly seem appropriate.

 

Just for the record, I'm grateful to Arelius for making the distinction... I may not always ACT like a lady, but I like to be at least acknowledged and treated like one.