By Kiel Edge
After a successful first season, the Ottawa Fury men’s soccer team is looking for local talent to improve their success on and off the pitch.
The Ottawa team finished third in their division in the Premier Development League (PDL), and narrowly missed qualifying for the playoffs.
The PDL, part of the United Soccer Leagues (USL), consists of more than 50 teams in eight divisions across the United States. The Fury is one of only two Canadian teams in the league.
“[For a first-year team] to do so well, it is a tremendous accomplishment,” says Colin McCurdy, head coach of the Fury. “I don’t think we could’ve asked for much more.”
The Northeast Division, where the Fury play, is considered one of the toughest in the PDL.
The success of the new team impressed league officials.
“[The season] was above average for a first-year team, especially in that division,” says Gerald Barnhart, the USL’s director of public relations. “It’s a pretty good start.”
Despite the success of their first season, team officials say developing local talent is vital to keeping the team profitable and competitive for years to come.
“The local players begin playing with local clubs, so they are fairly well known,” John Pugh, team owner and CEO says. “It really helps (attendance) to have local players. Ideally, we would like to have a full team of local players.”
The PDL team the newest part of the Ottawa Fury Soccer Club. The club also fields a number of other teams in the USL, including several youth teams and a women’s team in the W-League, a league equal to the PDL. The program allows players to develop their talent locally by providing them with a high level of competition.
While the PDL does not have specific development programs in place, officials say good youth programs such as the Ottawa Fury, can generate strong players who are capable of moving up to more challenging leagues.
“Ottawa has a [number of] youth clubs, so it’s a natural progression for local players to have a chance in the PDL,” Barnhart says.
Pugh also understands the importance of having a PDL team in the city and hopes an increase in local talent will help raise the profile of the Fury.
“The PDL team is vital [to local development],” Pugh says. “It gives local youth players something to shoot for. There are good players in this city.”
Building a quality team has encouraged fans to come out and support the Fury, Barnhart says.
“[The Fury] does quite a lot within the community to make this an experience the fans want to come back to, it’s up to the franchise to maximize attendance,” he says.
“We try to provide family entertainment that’s affordable and of high quality.”
Ottawa drew an average of 700 fans to their home games at Carleton University’s Keith Harris Stadium.
Attendance numbers steadily rose as the season progressed.
Pugh says crowds should increase even more next season, as the sport continues to grow in popularity.
“There is a growing following for soccer,” says Pugh. “It’s been a long time since we have had any [high-level] senior men’s soccer to watch.”