The Eddie Volume 9

a2 Hlavaty and Laing

issue 009 2012 edition

a4 Combine a6 broadcasting

WWW.FCEDMONTON.COM

By Andreas Morse

Edmonton, Ab. (November 27, 2012) – FC Edmonton proudly an-nounced the hiring of former Vancou-ver Whitecaps assistant coach Colin Miller as the club’s latest head coach at the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre.

Miller replaces Harry Sinkgraven as the bench boss after a disappointing season which saw the club finish in last place in the North American Soccer League standings.

“I’m looking forward to introduc-ing a new type of soccer into the City of Edmonton,” says Miller after his formal introduction at the press conference . “Something that’s exciting to watch, something that will bring the team good results and something that supporters can be proud of.”

Born in Scotland in 1964, Miller became the youngest player to play in the then-NASL when he was drafted by the Toronto Blizzard as a 17-year-old.

By the time he was 20, Miller was making his debut for the Canadian Men’s National Team while signing for Glasgow Rangers back in Scotland.

Miller played professionally for 18 years before moving on to the full time coaching ranks.

His coaching career is highlighted by positions with both the Men’s and Women’s Canadian National Teams, first team coach at Derby County Football Club in the English Premier League and most recently, assistant coach for the Vancouver Whitecaps.

“We pride ourselves on developing Canadian talent, and giving Canadian players the chance to become professional. It’s time we help develop our Canadian coaches. We are happy to have Colin be a part of our team,” says FC Edmonton owner Tom Fath.

Miller got thrown right into his new position as the club kicked off its 2012 Winter Combine at the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre Fieldhouse.

FC Edmonton’s first team will begin training camp in mid-February.

Colin Miller and Tom Fath FC Edmonton

FC Edmonton Name Colin Miller Head Coach

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By Andreas Morse

Edmonton, Ab. (November 21, 2012) — Player movement is under-way at FC Edmonton and the club is pleased to announce the signing of two high profile, NASL veterans.

Jamaican left-back Lancelot (Lance) Laing and American central midfielder Neil Hlavaty (La-Va-T), both free agents, have signed con-tracts with FC Edmonton.

“We’re extremely pleased to have both Lance and Neil onboard,” said FCE technical director Joe Petrone.

“Lance is an athletic, attacking left fullback with great potential and Neil won an NASL championship with the Minnesota Stars in 2011, so he’ll bring some much needed experience to our club.”

Laing has played for the Fort Lau-derdale Strikers since 2011 and was named to the NASL’s Best XI in his first season with the club. He scored two goals during that time.

The 24-year-old has also made two appearances for the Jamaican National Team.

“I feel very happy to be a part of FCE,” Laing said. “I’m joining a decent club with good players, such as Paul Hamilton and Shaun Saiko

– two of my favourite players in the league. I can’t wait to meet everyone in the organization and to gel with them in the preseason.”

Hlavaty, 25, played three sea-sons with the Stars, beginning in 2010 when the team was playing in the USSF D2. While in the NASL, Hlavaty played 62 games over two seasons, scoring 10 goals and adding four helpers.

In eight games against the Eddies, Hlavaty has scored two goals, both of which came from the penalty spot.

“Today is a very exciting day in my life and career. I’m anxiously look-ing forward to joining FC Edmonton and taking on another challenge. FC Edmonton is a club that I truly believe will, and should, have suc-cess in the NASL for years to come and I hope that I can play a vital role in making that success come to fruition. I’m looking forward to

meeting all the players and staff in Edmonton in the very near future,” Hlavaty said. “Finally, I want to thank Lagos and the entire staff in Min-nesota. They gave me a platform to establish myself in this growing league and I head to Edmonton with great memories and friendships in the Twin Cities.”

“This is a great day for Neil and his family,” said Hlavaty’s agent, Eddie Rock. “I’m sure the supporters in Edmonton will quickly embrace Neil’s leadership and ability to control the pace of the match from the center midfield position.”

The players will join the team in mid-January.

Hlavaty and LaIng will join the club in the new yearEddiEs Add Two ExpEriENCEd NAsL pLAyErs To ThE LiNE Up

Lance Laing Jon van woerden

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By Andreas Morse

Edmonton, Ab. (december 1, 2012) – The torcher is finally over and the Mo’s have been tamed for another year.

In November, FCE staff and sup-porters joined men all over the world in a show of unity and an effort to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues.

Each year, Movember is respon-sible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in Canada and around the world. With their “Mo’s”, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and male mental health initiatives.

“Having an organization like FC Edmonton engaged in Movem-ber, growing Mo’s and supporting is incredible,” said Jesse Hayman, community development manager

for Movember Canada. “They have an ability to reach out to a big network of supporters and not only engage them in Movember by asking them to grow, but also to influence them to make healthy choices. Organizations like FC Edmonton lend a massive hand in helping us change the face of men’s health!”

On Movember 1st, FCE began the crusade and was joined by seven other brave Mo Bros…and even some Mo Sistas. The group raised a modest $1,700 but also helped raise aware-ness for men’s health issues through social media and fundraising events.

FC Edmonton would like to thank all those who joined the team, and especially those of you who supported us with donations.

See you all next Movember!

December Couldn’t Come Sooner at the FCE Office sTAFF ANd sUpporTErs rAisEd FUNds For MEN’s hEALTh

By John Clubb

Edmonton, Ab. (November 20, 2012) – Students at St Joseph’s school in Edmonton recently took part in a special program to promote soccer for players with a disability.

The coaching session was hosted by John Clubb from Alberta Soccer Association and two FC Edmonton youth players Justin Esteves and Cole Kramer.

Soccability is a new initiative that is being promoted by Alberta Soccer

Provincial Coach John Clubb. The program has two centres in Calgary and Edmonton for players with pan-disabilities.

The idea is to offer a soccer first program that focuses upon the game and not specific impairment groups.

The centres are supported by coaches from Alberta Soccer to offer professional coaching and the drive is to develop more playing and competi-tive opportunities for enthusiastic players with a passion for develop-

ing soccer.

Players of all ages and impair-ments are invited to attend the centres and more information can be found at www.albertasoccer.com in the technical/grassroots section. Alternatively contact John Clubb at [email protected].

Soccability will be returning to St. Joseph High School in the near future.

St.Joe’s Students Kick it With SoccabilityFC EdMoNToN pLAyErs piTCh iN For A good CAUsE

students had a blast at st. Joe’s soccability session. FC Edmonton

Andreas Morse and steve sandor FC Edmonton

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COMbINE COuLD PrODuCE SOME PrOS FCE CoAChiNg sTAFF iMprEssEd wiTh TALENT LEvELBy Andreas Morse

Edmonton, Ab. (November 30, 2012) – While FC Edmonton’s 2012 Winter Combine wrapped up at the end of the month, the work is really just beginning for head coach Colin Miller and his staff as they sift through pages and pages of notes on potential invites to the 2013 FCE Training Camp which kicks off in mid-February.

Nearly 40 young, mostly Canadian, soccer players converged on the city for a three-day combine starting on Nov. 28. Players were divided into four teams – Blue, Green, Yellow and Red – and each team played one game per session.

“I’ve been doing this for the past 30 years and this is by far the best crop of talent I’ve ever had at a com-

bine,” said FCE technical director Joe Petrone. “There’s a lot of talent here, the question is, can any of them play at the next level? We may bring four, five or six guys back, maybe more.”

The players were satisfied with the two sessions on the first day, while the coaches wanted to see more ag-gressive play and effort. The players had a meal at the hotel and hit the sack to rest up for Day two.

Another successful couple of ses-sions on Day two and it was time for a bit of a break.

In the evening the players loaded up the FCE bus and headed out for a few hours at West Edmonton Mall. After two days of high-intensity games and coach and media scrutiny, the players were more than happy to finally get to bed after a long day.

On the final day the club held a morning session only and then ad-dressed the combine-invitees before the group disspersed across the coun-try.

The coaching and technical staff will now hunker down , compare notes and decide whether any of the invitees will be back for February’s main camp. All athletes will be get-ting a letter from technical director Joe Petrone by Dec. 20, regardless if they are invited or not.

“We have to sit down and discuss it with our coaches and the Alberta Soc-cer Association coaches who came out and helped,” Petrone said, regarding the decision on players. “The coaches who came and helped did a fantastic job and I can’t thank them enough.”

plenty of talent to be seen at the FC Edmonton Combine

All photos by Tony Lewis

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Dec 28th-30thFC Edmonton

www.edmontonsoccer.com

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FC Edmonton partnered up with ‘NSTEP, a not-for-profit registered charity whose goal is to prevent childhood obesity with its interactive physical activity and nutrition pro-gram. After their training on the field, the FCE Youth Winter Academy and Youth Winter Program receive weekly educational sessions focusing on how to make healthier food and activity choices.

The core philosophy is that once students, teachers and parents have the knowledge of healthier food and activity choices, they can begin to change their behaviour. This is how

‘NSTEP (which stands for Nutrition,

Students, Teachers, Exercising with Parents) creates a culture of change as the foundation for small simple steps that are meaningful and sustainable for every child and family. These simple steps become learned habits that are with them for life.

“We’re excited to join forces with ‘NSTEP. They have a wealth of knowl-edge about proper nutrition for high performance training and that align perfectly with what we expect from the athletes in our program.” said Janelle Janis, development and 0per-ations coordinator.

For more information on ‘NSTEP and its programs, visit www.nstep.ca.

By Andreas Morse

Edmonton, Ab. (November 30, 2012) – While the season didn’t go exactly how the club would have liked it to have gone on the pitch, off the pitch – especially when talking about the team’s broadcast – things con-tinue to get better and better.

In FC Edmonton’s second year in the NASL, M31 Design Group man-ager Eric Fath-Kolmes can boast an impressive collection of both live and tape-delayed broadcasts.

In 2012 alone, M31 broadcasted games live on CBC Edmonton and Shaw TV.

Games were also shown nationally on GolTV Canada (tape delay) and the majority of non-live games were re-broadcast on Shaw TV.

Not to mention the live stream on both www.cbc.ca and www.fcedmon-ton.com. Fans could also follow the dolcet sounds of Gareth Hampshire and Steve Sandor as they called the home games live on the Team 1260.

“All in all, it was a really great year, just talking about the FC Edmonton broadcasts alone,” Fath-Kolmes said.

“We’re looking to expand in 2013. We’re looking to expand our video audience through other networks. Ul-timately we would like all FCE games to be live on local TV.”

While the players are home resting up their bodies and preparing for the 2013 season, M31 is just as busy in the off-season as Fath-Kolmes continues to grow his company, clientel and audience.

From filming the Women’s World Wrestling Championships in Septem-ber to going full-tilt on negotiating with other networks, there’s rarely a dull moment in M31’s universe.

There’s also plenty of work to do simply trying to improve the existing product.

“We always want to be improving the story, improving the look,” Fath-Kolmes said. “We want to improve the graphics and hopefully shoot everything in HD. We are also look-ing to work with sponsors for the 2013

season as we continue to build our audience locally and nationally.”

Perhaps most importantly for Ed-dies fans who can’t make it to Clarke for the games, Fath-Kolmes said he is hopefull that both Hampshire and Sandor we’ll be back for the 2013 season.

“They’re integral to our broadcast,” he said.

a Galaxy Ahead when it comes to broadcastingFATh-KoLMEs pLANs oN CoNTiNUiNg To iMprovE ALrEAdy sTELLAr prodUCTioN

CBC Broadcasting Truck FC Edmonton

FC Edmonton Gets N’STEP with local youth

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Supplied by NASL

AshBUrN,vA (Nov 5, 2012)– Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional sports and entertainment options to Northern Virginia, VIP Sports & Entertainment announces that it is partnering with Loudoun Professional Soccer, LLC (LPS), who have been awarded a franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The franchise will debut in 2014 playing its home games at the future Ballpark located at One Loud-oun in Ashburn, VA.

“The NASL has a long and glorious tradition as a quality professional

league and we are proud to join them in 2014,” said Bob Farren, Chairman & Founder of VIP Sports & Enter-tainment. “We believe the addition of professional soccer significantly enhances the entertainment options we can offer our fans and we are ex-traordinarily happy to welcome the NASL to Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C. region.”

Accompanying this announcement is the launch of a Name The Team contest to have our fans determine the name of the franchise. Fans are encouraged to submit names for their new soccer team at NASLvirginia.

com, presented by Edelman Finan-cial Services, Buffalo Wing Factory & Pub, Mountcastle Plastic Surgery and Sonak Family Chiropractic.

“The NASL is delighted to add Vir-ginia to the league as our 11th team, beginning play in 2014,” said Com-missioner David Downs. “Over the past year we have gotten to know the owners and management group here quite well, and share their strong be-lief that this team will be successful in every sense of the word in this rap-idly growing and vibrant community in Northern Virginia.”

LPS President Joe Travez added

his thoughts on the world’s game: “We will work with NASL and its part-ner Traffic Sports, headquartered in Brazil, to bring the global game home to Loudoun County through various international matches. It is an excit-ing opportunity to expand Virginia’s role in the world sports market.”

Farren noted, “The opportunity to expand the lineup of professional sports in Loudoun County and Northern Virginia with the quality of an NASL franchise is a tremendous compliment to our plans at the Ball-park. We all look forward to tapping into the power of the youth soccer

network of the DC Region and finding fans all across the region to be a part of the future success of this team.”

Among the goals of VIP’s soccer franchise will be the development of an academy system, formed by team-ing up with several established youth soccer clubs including Loudoun Soc-cer, the largest club of its kind in Vir-ginia. Former DC United Goalkeeper and Coach Mark Simpson will be the club’s Director of Soccer Operations.

Supplied by NASL

MiAMi, Fla. (November 27, 2012) – The resurgent North American Soccer League (NASL) will kick off its third season in the spring of 2013 with a new Commissioner at the helm. Veteran sports executive Bill Peterson will lead the expanding nine-team NASL into a new era of soccer, while establishing the league on the sporting landscape.

Peterson, who will assume his role immediately, is no stranger to North American soccer having worked closely with MLS teams when he was the Senior Vice President of AEG Sports and Managing Director of the Home Depot Center from 2000 to 2006. Peterson helped oversee the management of numerous MLS teams and the development of soccer-specific stadiums across the country.

“We conducted a global search and an intense interview process to ensure we selected the right Commissioner for the NASL as we enter this next important growth phase for our league,” commented Chairman of the NASL Board of Governors Aaron Davidson.

“Bill’s diverse breadth of management experience in the US and abroad at governing bodies, leagues, teams, stadia and one of the leading hospitality companies gives him the ability to lead by example and align everyone’s interests in order to achieve our individual and collective goals. With Commissioner Peterson, we look forward to accelerating the positive financial results of our existing teams and continuing to usher in new teams in strategic markets with owners who embrace our vision and have the wherewithal

to succeed at the highest possible level.”

Peterson said: “There is an opportunity here to cement the NASL as a league that can thrive and expand while providing compelling soccer for the game’s fans.

“The roots of the NASL triggered a soccer explosion in North America in the 1970s and I am delighted to be leading this new chapter as we take the league and its teams forward into an exciting future.”

As Peterson becomes the league’s next Commissioner, one of the iconic teams of the early days of the NASL, the New York Cosmos, will return to the league in 2013 and future expan-sion teams have been announced for Virginia and the Canadian capital Ottawa. The league is poised to an-nounce season-openers for the 2013

season when the Tampa Bay Rowdies will defend the NASL title having dra-matically defeated Minnesota Stars FC on penalty kicks to lift the 2012 championship.

Most recently Peterson provided advisory and event services to a variety of clients in Canada and the United States through his own firm Solve4. Peterson is the Chairman of the USA Cycling Board of Directors and a member of the USPRO Cycling Board of Trustees and served briefly as COO of the UFL. He was the Ex-ecutive Vice President of Centerplate, the North American market leader for managing food and beverage, re-tail, restaurant, and events in sports facilities, convention centers, and entertainment complexes. He spent six years working with a variety of teams, facilities and sporting events while Senior Vice President at AEG in

Los Angeles. Peterson spent almost a decade working for the National Football League where he became the President of NFL Europe having been the General Manager of the league’s Amsterdam Admirals.

bill Peterson Named NASL Commissioner

NASL ANnounced Virginia Team in 2014

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The Eddie Volume 9