A sign of progress: The Silverbacks boys have a coach with vast international experience, and heÆs American.
In the mid-1990s, Bruce Murray retired from soccer. A collegiate Hermann Trophy winner in 1987, he spent eight years on the U.S. national team, earning 86 caps and scoring 21 goals. One of those came in Italy, during the 1990 World Cup.
He played with NASL veterans and ônewcomersö like Cobi Jones. After leaving Millwall in England, he joined the A-League Atlanta Ruckus. But a knee injury helped convince him it was time to move on, get a ôreal jobö and put his Clemson University education to use. He became a metal trader.
But Murray found soccer addictive. He is back in the game, this time as a coach. His Atlanta Silverbacks U-16 team plays in the Super Y-League, the highest youth soccer level in the country. It seems a perfect match.
ôI love the game, and I love to be able to transfer my knowledge to kids,ö Murray says. ôWhen theyÆre 11, 12 and 13, they develop skills and learn how to use both feet. By the time they get this age, I can teach them the little nuances that make a big difference: how to play off someoneÆs shoulder, how to get free in a tight space. I can put a bug in their ear and make them see all the possibilities that lie ahead.ö
In some ways, not much has changed from the days when Murray was a youth, advancing through the Maryland and ODP ranks. He is trying to impart the same lessons he learned from coaches like John Kerr Sr.: the importance of good rapport, constant communication and the development of long-term goals.
He speaks from experience: MurrayÆs Montgomery United teams won two national youth championships ù U-16 in 1981 and U-19 in 1983.
In other ways, though, much has changed in two decades. For one, the players are bigger, stronger and faster ù and not just in the middle of the field. Good-sized strikers operate in tight spaces; big outside backs patrol the flanks.
ôWeÆve got 16-year-olds who are 6-foot men,ö Murray says. ôBut they canÆt just rely on size. They need that extra half step.ö
He emphasizes speed training ù and speed all over the field. Offensively, his backs overlap, and teammates race over to cover. Defensively, his teams trap often, in part to neutralize the speed of opponents.
ôWe donÆt always look like AC Milan, but occasionally we do,ö he says. They did on opening day, beating South Carolina, 5-1.
Other differences are subtler. Murray says players (and parents) have less patience today:
ôI canÆt emphasize that enough. If you have a three-year plan for getting your team from age 14 to 17, you have to stick with it. But too many people just want to jump ship and go to the team that won the most recent championship.ö
Developing a sophisticated trap takes time, he notes, and in the early going teams using it can get burned. Eventually, however, it pays off, and players who learn it will become better tactically and technically.
Convincing people that long-term goals will pay off is not easy. However, he adds, it is one of the great rewards of soccer. (Often, he notes, the players are more willing than parents to commit to long-range goals.)
The Super Y-League provides the competition players of the SilverbacksÆ caliber need, Murray says. Because the schedule runs throughout the summer, there are fewer conflicts with club games and tournaments than in the spring. The travel can be arduous, however, and there are conflicts with other activities like family vacations. That is why Murray keeps a 25-player roster and rotates athletes in and out of his 18-man game squad.
Most of the Silverbacks were still in diapers at the height of MurrayÆs career. Some know of his accomplishments, but others are only vaguely aware. More important to Murray is that his players know about the modern game.
ôThey watch Fox Sports,ö he says, ôThey can tell me who plays for Manchester United and Lazio.ö
They also go to local pro games. The Atlanta Beat is one of the top teams in the WUSA. The SilverbacksÆ senior team plays in the A-League. (The club also sponsors U-14, 15 and 18 Y-League teams.) Of course, MurrayÆs players follow the career of Josh Wolff, the young star from nearby Stone Mountain.
Those examples ù and the strong Y-League schedule ù help Murray fulfill his own three-year plan for the Silverbacks. This winter, he hopes the team will improve on last yearÆs quarterfinal appearance at the Sun Bowl tournament.
Next spring, he plans to take his players on college visits. It is an exciting time for his boys ù and for the coach.
ôI got a way from the game for a while but now IÆm back, working in the grassroots,ö says Murray, who also serves as director of boys coaching for the Norcross Soccer Association. ôWhen I was playing, I was on a team that had a three-year plan. Now I get to be part of it from the other side. ItÆs fun, and I appreciate the chance to transfer some of what I know back to others.ö
by Youth Soccer Letter editor Dan Woog