Well, that's really cool, but "The league that's just below MLS?" Not exactly. I'm sure the players know what's what, and what sort of salary they can expect. Of course, Wilmington probably has a much lower cost of living than a big city, like Lost Angeles. (Now I'm wondering what the cost of living is in the various USLPro cities? LA would be worst, how pricey are Orlando and Tampa?) Anyway, good on the Hammerheads. - Mark
Very cool that the club has a lot interest from international players. Most teams have to go to the players in other nations, not the other way around.
How cool! Thanks for posting! With the weather they were having on that day I'd say NC is looking very nice to them!
I got to talk to David Irving in Bradenton at the combine again this year. He is such a funny guy, smiling and joking. A great coach for this league. Look forward to our game up there on 3 July.
They are having a combine in Maryland, along with Harrisburg as well as European scouts, next month. My son will be there, I'll let you know what I think as I'll tag along as he'll be going to European trials as well in the summer. Very impressed with SkySports spot and the idea of having these combines. At first we thought it odd that there was a fee, but it turns out the USL PRO league-wide combine cost about the same.
Cool, and good luck to your son. Nice to hear these tidbits, and a report from you about the proceedings would be great! - Mark
And just to confirm, he was invited and got his confirmation of acceptance. We expect there to be fewer 6'6" 200 lb. players than he had to play against in his HS county playoffs this fall LOL.
Got back from Hammerheads combine in Maryland - will be very interested to see if any participants get a trial or an offer from the club. Looked like average college players both in age and ability. First day had about 45 participants, but there were about 30 more who showed up on the second and third day, and played against each other. The first 45 were broken up into three teams the first day playing 9 v. 9 on a half-pitch, then four teams playing full sided on days two and three. Hammerheads coach appeared to focus on those 30, and it wasn't clear if even one player from the first day was in that group of 30 afterwards. It's also unclear if coaches from Harrisburg or any European clubs showed up. There were quite a few parents in the stands which shocked us as most players were over 18 (do college students depend that much on their parents nowadays?). Speed of play was much better in the game with the 30 who only were there two days, but it was kick and run, kick and run. Other games actually showed more possession in my opinion. There were some players from overseas there as well as a lot of Americans. Ages trended young, many 18 - 20 year olds. My son enjoyed the combine, but quickly he knew that it was really run by the company not the team. There were even teammates of his who said they had gotten MLS offers (though only 18 or 19), but they were sorted into the "B" groups not the "A" groups. He did score a goal at least, so he was happy about that. Good luck to the Hammerheads this season, and hope they found some prospects!
Was told one player from the Maryland combine is on trial pre-season with the Hammerheads (Mickael Barroso, from Belgian 3rd division according to some reports?), and one player ended up on trial pre-season with Harrisburg from the Maryland combine.