Dear Alums & Friends,
I apologize for not be in touch for a while but even though we are in between our traditional and non-traditional seasons it has been a busy time on campus. First and foremost we were in the hunt to replace Gareth Elliott who as most of you know, left in January to become the head coach at Siena College (NY). "G" has been busy himself sorting out things for his program but we didn't have to look far for someone to fill his shoes. Our second assistant Mitch Stone was elevated into the full-time position Gareth vacated and now we are on the look out for the person and funding to fill this position.
The second thing on the docket was fundraising and we have been working hard with alumni appeals and working with our club program to raise the funds necessary to get a second assistant on board. We had some moderate success with donations from alums and friends. We were stunned and extremely grateful for these but most especially to Vince McCrudden who chipped in with a $10,000 check for the program. Vince and his brother Dan who both played here at URI have been big supporters of URI soccer and we can't say enough about what Vince's generosity will do for us.
On the playing front the guy's have been training this winter with technical sessions on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 6:30 am while lifting and running Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the afternoons. They are on break this week and excited to get outside when they get back to campus to begin our non traditional spring season. We kick it off with a trip to Siena College on March 29th to meet up with Gareth Elliott's new squad and continue on with a games against UMass, Central Connecticut, Quinnipiac, UMass-Lowell (NCAA Division II), Southern New Hampshire (NCAA Division II), Maine and finish off with the annual Alumni Game and banquet on Saturday April 26th at 1:00 pm here in Kingston. We hope you have already begun to make your plans to be here that weekend as last years event was a blast.
From the alumni front we are happy to update you on our guy's who are out there trying to make a go at playing the game they love. Geoffrey Cameron is presently in Guatemala with the Houston Dynamo after signing a senior roster contract. Lukasz Tumicz was unfortunately released by the Columbus Crew but fate has a funny way of working out as he got a chance to travel back home to Poland for a trial with Jagiellonia Bialystok FC of the Polish First Division and subsequently earned himself a three year contract to play the team who ironically was the one he supported as a youth. Danleigh Borman, who was taken in the supplementary draft by Red Bull New York, was back on campus about a week ago after returning to the states from Austria where he continued to train with Red Bull. We just got great news the other day that he was offered and accepted a senior developmental contract with New York and it looks like - according to internet rumors - he has a very good chance to begin the season as a starter.
Closer to Rhode Island, Callum Bissett, who was invited to pre-season with the Harrisburg City Islanders (United Soccer Leagues Second Division) decided to stay nearer to his surrogate home and has signed with the Western Mass Pioneers. It's an extraordinary accomplishment for such a talented class.
Well, that's about all there is to report. We continue on the search for a second assistant and are looking forward to the ANNUAL ALUMNI GAME & TEAM BANQUET ON APRIL 26th. Don't forget about the 10th Annual URI men's soccer GOLF OUTING ON MONDAY AUGUST 11th AT FENNER HILL GOLF CLUB IN HOPE VALLEY, RI. More information on both events will follow but clear your calendars and join us for two of the best events we do here for URI soccer.
Happy Easter and GO RAMS!