For United, stability reigns in MLS draft
Second-year coach, front office seek quality among picks
Though the 2008 draft sequence will be the first for Tom Soehn as a head coach, he's seen it all before -- both as a player and an assistant coach -- in his long MLS career and for yet another year, stability and sense are watchwords for United's offseason approach.
"It's the same as always," said Soehn this week. "Obviously we're looking to fill our cupboard with some young talent. Every draft we address the same: We look for talented guys and hopefully in the process can address needs. But I think for the most part we're going to try to identify talent which we think has a chance of making it at the MLS level."
But the Jan. 18 SuperDraft, taking place just a short hop up the Baltimore-Washington Parkway from RFK Stadium, might yet be upstaged by news of another Argentinean find. The Black-and-Red are actively shopping for more South American talent, with at least one foreign signing likely imminent, and United's recent history suggests that draft picks will readily be used as trade currency should inviting opportunities present themselves.
Stories abound of the hectic dealmaking that goes on around the draft and concurrent coaches' convention, much of which draws little water with Soehn -- though he admits that some networking in and around the Baltimore Convention Center is unavoidable.
"Something might come up that you feel would make your team better, so you always have to listen to what's out there," he said. "But in my experience, most of it's talk. Not a lot gets done."
In terms of player development, many of D.C.'s recent success stories -- players like Bobby Boswell, Troy Perkins and Devon McTavish, to name a few -- have arrived in Washington as unheralded rookies acquired in the supplemental draft, the lower reaches of the SuperDraft or even signed as undrafted free agents.
"Soccer is not a statistic-based sport. ... You can't really measure a person's soccer intelligence or measure his heart, measure his abilities like you can with baseball or football," explained Soehn. "So we've been able to find ones in the second, third and fourth rounds that are comparable to what you might find in the first round."
Soehn and his colleagues take pride in the United system and the consistent style of play it has produced, and believe in their ability to identify youngsters who can prosper within it.
"As you watch guys who are young and maybe haven't been in that kind of environment, you always try to picture them in your environment and see what that might turn out to," said Soehn. "So you have to have a vision of what they might be like in an environment in which they're forced to work and challenged to play with quality players."
Earlier this week United held their own local combine at an indoor facility in the Washington suburbs, providing an opportunity for young players not invited to the adidas MLS Player Combine in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. this weekend.
"Sometimes there's guys that fall under the radar, and when you put that guy in a situation where he's playing with better players, he ends up gelling better than anybody else. So I think it gives some of those guys an opportunity," said Soehn of the local combine.
Though the technical staff have little desire to reveal any detailed information that might draw the attention of other teams, the event has turned up promising talent like McTavish and Guy-Roland Kpene in previous years and some participants will likely be invited to D.C.'s preseason training for a closer look. The club clearly appreciates the value such discoveries represent, far removed from the hype that often accompanies big reputations and gaudy statistics.
"I think there's a fine line between making it or not making it," said Soehn. "It's not always the guys who get all the accolades in school who make it. So you have to be able to evaluate the type of player and the type of person who can make it in our league."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
