Sporting Director & Head Coach Gregg Berhalter
On the biggest thing that needed to be addressed in revamping the Academy
What I’d say to that is that you want to take things step-by-step. When I first came in, the initiative was to work around the First Team. As that started developing, you start setting your sights on other things that need work. We clearly identified the structure within the Academy as needing improvement. On a direct mandate from ownership, from Mr. [Anthony] Precourt, we wanted to improve. I think not only have we improved, but we have one of the best staffs of any academy in all of America right now.
On how the revamping of the Academy affects the future of the First Team
The idea is that we know it takes time, but like anything, we want to put a good process in place. Part of a good process needs a good staff. We have a staff now that we feel is going to establish a strong culture within the Academy and really embody the philosophy of the club in terms of soccer. [The Academy] is going to play a very similar playing style, really look into developmental aspects of youth soccer and I think make a big impact on the First Team in the future.
On where this falls in the club’s final goals
We think it’s a step in the right direction. Again, I want to stress that we know it’s going to take time and we know there are a number of steps that need to happen for us to be successful. Again, we thought that the most impact we could make immediately is with staffing. When we talk about this staff, it’s highly qualified individuals, some top, top coaches, a very strong Academy Director with vast experience in developmental academies. Overall, we’re focused on the long-term health of the club, and that’s what this is, a step forward.
On what will be attractive about the Crew SC Academy for players
What I would say is that we’re spending a lot of time thinking about being collaborative with local soccer leaders. That’s an important step. What we want to do is tie this entire community together. We see these local clubs as extensions of ourselves. Moving forward, we had already established relationships with these clubs, and them coming to us would be for a high-level of coaching and an opportunity to perform on a different platform than they are currently.
On what it says about Crew SC that the club was able to assemble its current Academy staff
I would take one step backwards and say what it says about the owner, Mr. Precourt. He is fully engaged in the club and he wants the best for our kids and for our program and for our club. He wants to put a team on the field that all of Ohio can be proud of. Having more players from the state can certainly accomplish that. Overall, the kids are going to be in good hands. We do have an excellent staff and we’re proud to have them working with our kids.
On the financial investment involved in the changes to the Academy
One thing I’d add is that the budget has increased for the Academy, and I think that’s a clear sign again from ownership that Mr. Precourt wants us to be successful, he wants to see kids from the Academy on our First Team field. Those lines need to be tied extremely closely together for that to happen. In terms of staffing, the first thing is looking for qualified people, and the second thing is looking for people that have a passion for being at Columbus Crew SC and really believing in the philosophy that we’re teaching. With these individuals, it wasn’t a tough sell. They’re extremely engaged and really coming here to make a difference and to have a big effect on what can possibly happen.
On what can be done in the future to accommodate players when they are ready to leave the Academy as it relates to a possible club-based USL team
Unfortunately, we’re not at that stage just yet. We don’t have those numbers. I’ll give you an example: with Ben Swanson, it’s on a case-by-case basis, and we’re able to send him to Germany to gain experience with a number of different clubs and see what is potentially the right fit for him to perform over there for a little bit. In the long term, as we get those numbers, USL is certainly an option that we’re going to have to look into more. What we’ve seen, when you look at teams like LA and the New York Red Bulls, the ability to give these kids valuable games and keep them in their environment can only be accomplished through USL right now, so that’s certainly an option we’re going to have to look into in the near future.
On European academies such as Villarreal or Ajax aligning philosophies and if the elements are in place to emulate that in Columbus
First and foremost, if we’re anywhere close to Villarreal or Ajax, we’d be happy. We’re not quite there yet. But what I’d say is it’s not specifically the style of the First Team – we’re talking about a greater philosophy, we’re talking about a philosophy that Columbus Crew SC has. This philosophy, we want every player in our program embodying, whether its the First Team or our youngest team. We want them to really understand and appreciate what we stand for both on the field and off the field.
On his experience in Europe and if he saw anything overseas that played into how he wants to build the Crew SC Academy
I think everything I saw over there helped form the ideas and the concepts of what we want to do. I was visiting a club, and the first team was struggling at the time, and I remember one of the coaches saying ‘if you want help, if you want ideas, look at the academy.’ To me, it struck me how close those entities were tied together and how the philosophy of the club was resonated throughout every team. The first team could look to the academy for ideas, and the first team could get back to their roots of what the real philosophy is by looking at the academy. Sometimes the first team got clouded with a results-oriented approach and lost sight of what they were actually doing. I think these concepts are extremely interesting. We want, certainly, this proactive soccer style to be resonated throughout every team, but we also want to create a club that Columbus and Ohio are proud of.
On how he would sell a parent on sending his or her child to the Crew SC Academy
The first thing I would say is that there is going to be an extremely high level of coaching. The second thing I would say is that they’re going to be given a sense of identity. They’re going to able to be proud of what they’re a part of. I think that’s the most important thing – being part of something. It’s not just part of that team, it’s part of a club. Any child, any player that comes to us is part of our club. That should make them feel like they are a part of something.
Columbus Crew SC Academy Director Michael Milazzo
On how the process began for him and what his expectations are
The process began a number of months ago. Gregg and I had a preexisting relationship. We reorganized ourselves in our professional careers and presented part of his vision. We met, talked about his vision, his philosophy, and it was an easy sell for me. Having the opportunity to come here and work alongside Gregg, to follow in the same vision that he had put forth for the First Team, have the opportunity to lead a group of coaches, manage a group of young players that have that same identity and represent the city was an outstanding opportunity for me professionally. To have the opportunity to work here alongside Gregg and the rest of the staff is a dream come true.
On his priorities in the near future
First and foremost was to establish a culture on and off the field that was in line with the expectations of the First Team, the technical staff and Columbus Crew SC. When you talk about the playing style first and foremost, you look at culture and establishing that, the first element was to implement the same playing style. Number two was developing a team of coaches – not just a team of players but also a team of coaches that are capable and able to collaborate with each other, to ensure vertical integration with an Under-14 coach collaborating with the Under-16 coach, the Under-16 coach collaborating with the Under-18 coach, to ensure that integration with our player-first mindset allows for those players to go through the system over time. The priority was based on the culture, the playing style and the integration of all the staff with all the players.
On feedback he has received from Academy players on the opportunity to work closely with the First Team
It’s been tremendous. One of the key ingredients is that you don’t have to be a professional to act like a professional. The expectations that we’ve set for these players when we travel, when we train, the interaction with the First Team coaches has been a tremendous response. On a weekly basis, we have the likes of Josh Wolff, Director of Soccer Operations Asher Mendelsohn and of course Gregg Berhalter in attendance for training sessions. The kids have really identified that they’re in a professional environment and they can see the importance of it. The fact that those guys have taken such a vast interest in the Academy just reassures them that they’re in the right place.
On what his past experiences have taught him and what he will bring from them to the Crew SC Academy
I’ll go back to my tenured positions in North Carolina, those experiences at CASL allowed me to really sharpen up my administrative and management skills, which I’ve certainly been able to bring here and have paid dividends. Some similarities in the Richmond endeavor over the last three years have allowed me to experience unification of a market. In Richmond, there were two existing academy clubs and over time we were able to bring those two academy clubs together in order to create a better player development model and a competitive platform. Those experiences I think will pay dividends here as we continue to strengthen our relationships with the local communities as our professional Academy grows. The Richmond experience allowed me to work on relationship building and effective communication with local soccer leaders to keep growing the game in our market and community, which is ultimately the most important thing.
On the academy reform movement in the United States and the Crew SC Academy’s place in that movement
The evolution of the game is always changing. We want to be at the forefront of change. We’ve looked at our staff and myself as agents of change. We don’t want to be following the movement, we want to be leading the movement. The improvement that we’ve made in the staff, the level of professionalism that Nico [Estevez], Joaquin [Gonzalez], James [Field], Todd [Avery], Abdi [Moallin], Andy [Brinkman] and myself bring, we want to be at the forefront of this movement. There are some other tremendous MLS academies that are in that same category and we certainly want to be there as leaders and agents of change.
On ensuring that the philosophies remain with the club for many years into the future
With Gregg’s impact on the Academy and the First Team, there’s a short-term impact and a long-term impact. The long-term impact truly lies within the connection to the community. We want the entire community, players and staff to be proud of a particular playing style. We want to associate the brand of football that Gregg has brought to the city to transcend beyond his time here. If you look at a long-term impact, we have 12-, 13-, 14-year-old players that are playing this brand of football and this style. They’re learning it at a very young age. Four or five years, they’re still able to express themselves in the same playing style, that will help the game move forward, not just in our community in representing Columbus and the state of Ohio, but obviously improving the level of the game throughout our country.
On working with the staff on hand such as Nico Estevez
My job when it comes to Nico and the rest of the staff is to support them. I come from a coaching background first and foremost. I think like a coach and I think that’s a tremendous asset to the coaching staff. I want to be able to support them. My background support administratively and in management allows them to focus in on their task, particularly with Nico as we coach the coaches to ensure that the methodology, the principles of play, all that transcends from the First Team all the way down. I want to be able to provide as much support on a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month level so that Nico and the rest of the staff can ensure the connectivity in the playing style from the First Team through the Academy.
On the future goals in terms of international players coming to the Crew SC Academy
Our talent identification and scouting is very broad right now. We do get a number of inquiries both domestically and internationally. At this point in time, we will fulfill and look at every opportunity, but first and foremost, we have to take care of our backyard. Our backyard is the state of Ohio. We want to develop players from within that fit our style of play. Currently, we would look at that, however our focus will certainly lie on the domestic player, particularly from the state of Ohio.
