Kickers Continue to Impress On and Off the Field

By Adam Stern

RICHMOND, VA - January 7, 2010 - The Richmond Kickers are continuing to dominate headlines in the USL landscape this offseason, mere months after winning the USL Division II title for the second time in the last four years.

The club was named USL organization of the year at the USL’s end of season gala for the first time since they won the award consecutively in 2006 and 2007-the fifth time the honor has been bestowed upon the club overall. In addition, 10th year Head Coach Leigh Cowlishaw was inducted into the USL Hall of Fame alongside former Charleston Battery striker Paul Conway and former Rochester Rhino’s defender Scott Schweitzer.

“It’s fantastic to be recognized. I never would have expected I was going to be a coach at all to be honest. It’s really just a testimony to the whole organization,” said Cowlishaw.

Beyond the accolades, the club has been busy reorganizing itself; capped off by the Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer Club-a closely tied yet unto that point an officially unrelated entity-purchasing the assets to the pro team. The realignment will allow for the professional team and the many youth teams that bear the club’s badge to finally officially fall under the same vertically-integrated structure. The move is being viewed as an important one for a club that has always prided itself on serving as a model for the future of U.S. soccer.

“Everyone says that (we’re following the) European style but I really believe we’re a hybrid. We're taking the best of the traditional U.S. youth club system and we’re taking the best components of international club soccer. To say its only European model would not be giving credit to all these U.S. clubs that are continuing to grow,” said Cowlishaw.

With the new ownership now set in stone, the club has turned its attention towards next season with an eye on retaining a squad that posted an impressive regular season record en route to the championship game- where they defeated the Charlotte Eagles 3-1.

Veteran midfielder Luke Vercollone recently signed an extension with the club and former Carolina Railhawks midfielder Chris Carrieri was induced out of retirement to rejoin the Kickers- whom he played for in 2005 and 2006. Carrieri, who will continue to live in his native North Carolina throughout the season and will mostly only come up for games, was deemed important enough to put on the squad even though he will rarely train with the team.

On top of the emphasis being placed on holding the team’s core together, Cowlishaw stated that he wished to sign five to six college players-some of whom have prior ties to the Kickers and the Richmond community overall.
William & Mary midfielder Price Thomas, who used to play for the Kicker’s Super-Y League team, is being touted as a possible signing alongside UVA’s Jordan Evans. Evans, who grew up just outside of Richmond and played for the University of Richmond before transferring to UVA, played an instrumental role this season for the Cavaliers on the way to winning their first national championship since 1994.

“Now that we’re a fully integrated club were looking for our signings to be strong role models. We ‘re looking for players who want to be a pro but also wants be involved in making the Richmond community stronger,” said Cowlishaw.

Players will meet up to begin preseason training in late January with an eye towards the team’s season-opener at home against the Harrisburg City Islanders on April 17. In the meantime, Cowlishaw will be spending his time in Ft. Lauderdale where he will be among eight other managers who will coach at the MLS Player Combine. The combine is being held Jan. 8-12 and will feature the best Division I seniors who are looking to turn pro this year.
Yet while Cowlishaw is busy eyeing up the next batch of youngsters looking to ply their trade in professional soccer in America, it’s what a former Kicker is doing on the other side of the world that’s generating the most headlines for the club.

Former Kickers’ player Tim Brown, who currently plays on Wellington Phoenix FC in Australia’s A-League, should be included in New Zealand’s 23-man world cup roster heading to South Africa for the World Cup this summer. The hard-nosed midfielder, who was known as much for his ferocious tackles as he was for his angelic touch on long range shots, joined the Kickers from the University of Cincinnati and played for two seasons before joining the Newcastle Jets in the A-League in the 2006-2007 season.

“With Tim going to the World Cup, it just gives you good exposure and it gives you a pathway for younger players to look at and say ok: this is a viable option for me to get valuable playing time. The Richmond Kickers are always trying to be a stage for younger players to showcase their abilities and hopefully move on to bigger and better,” said Cowlishaw.

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