Rusty Pierce joined the Revolution in 2000 as a Project-40 player after three years of college and nailed down a starting spot. Get to know the 21-year-old Texan in this segment of socceramerica.comÆs series on the USAÆs top young talent. INTERVIEW BY BRYAN ALVAREZ Name: Rusty Pierce Position: Defender Height: 5-10. Weight: 165 Born: July 24, 1979 Hometown: The Woodlands, Texas College: UNC-Greensboro 2000 MLS Season: 29 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points. SOCCER AMERICA: What do you do when you are not playing soccer? RUSTY PIERCE: I love to play pool! I like to read a lot and I’m really active in my church. SA: Who is your favorite actor? RP: Sean Connery. SA: Who are your favorite actresses? RP: Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts SA: Who is your favorite musician? RP: Caveman’s Call SA: Who is your favorite comedian? RP: John Candy. SA: What song or music gets you pumped before a game? RP: I start with country music. Then as the game approaches it gets faster and faster, like Live and 3 Doors Down. SA: What’s your current living situation? RP: I just bought a condo in Norwood, Mass. I live in a one bedroom condo by myself. SA: How did you adapt to living in a new city? RP: It’s definitely different living in the Boston area as opposed to Greensboro and Texas before that. The weather has been the biggest difference. I had to buy a whole bunch of new clothes. SA: Do you have time to go out, be young? RP: Definitely. We have a good deal of off-time. Boston is definitely a great city to go out and have a good time in. I’ve picked up a few new hobbies. I’m learning to play golf and the guitar. SA: Being on the road so much, do you get homesick? RP: No. I miss my family obviously. I got used to being on my own when I went to school in North Carolina. With the traveling with the youth national teams, it hasn’t been a big adjustment. SA: What are your impressions of your first year in MLS? RP: I like the league. The level of play last year compared to the the first few years is improving. People are getting more educated about soccer. The players are better and better. I think the league is going to last. SA: How is MLS different from the college game? RP: Everyone is mentally so much quicker. Decision-making has to be so much quicker. In college, if you make a mistake, you usually can recover. In MLS, it can lead to a goal or a goal scoring opportunity. SA: What is the biggest adjustment you had to make? RP: I had to focus for the full 90 minutes without any lapses. Also, I had to improve on my decision-making. That’s something I’m always trying to work on. SA: Who has been your greatest influence? RP: Leonel Alvarez. He leads by example. The work ethic he puts into the game is tremendous. I think everybody can learn from it. Also, when Mike Burns was here, he helped me a lot. SA: How do you plan to improve in your second season? RP: The biggest thing I need to do is to continue to find my options early and to continue on my strong points. SA: What are your predictions for this year? RP: We have gotten off to a rough start. Yet, at the same time we got off to a rough start last year, too. We have talent to match with anyone else in MLS. I think we are going to win a lot of games this year. SA: Who is the toughest opponent you faced last year? RP: Clint Mathis. I think he’s a very good player. He’s dangerous with the ball. But, his off the ball runs make him difficult to mark. SA: Do you have any rivalries? RP: We always look forward to Dallas. I don’t know why. We always have good battles with them. I think our best rivalry is with the MetroStars, though. Each time we played them there were always tough tackles and words exchanged. SA: What can MLS do to improve? RP: The level of play continues to rise. As it continues, more people will watch. I think the biggest thing we can do is get a farm system. Each team needs a team below it so players can come in and out. SA: What is your opinion of single-entity? RP: I try to educate myself and get a lot of opinions. As the league develops and matures, I think it should gradually get away from single-entity. SA: What are your opinions about college and high school players coming out early? RP: Everywhere else in the world, kids start playing professionally at 16. There’s no reason why, in the U.S, it can’t be the same. It should be encouraged. It’s good because the league has a plan for people coming out early, with Project-40. They can get their school paid for even if something happens. SA: What can MLS do to retain its young stars? RP: The league needs to show that they are in this for the long run. Also, they need to try to continue to improve the league, every day. If players see their commitment, players will stay and be a part of that. Also, when players do well, they should be rewarded. SA: Do you eventually want to play abroad? RP: I’ll definitely keep my mind open to that. I like playing in America, but at the same time, I would consider going overseas. I really like the idea of playing in Germany. I think it’s a great country and the league is very good. SA: What’s your commitment to MLS? RP: I have four years left. I re-signed this year so I have this year plus three more. Two years and two one-year extension options. SA: How is your relationship with the fans? RP: It’s very good. Last year, when I came, I didn’t know what to expect. They were really supportive of me out there, at team events, in public. SA: Do you get recognized in public? RP: Sometimes in airports, malls and restaurants. It’s happened a few times. SA: Are you a soccer fan? RP: Definitely. SA: Who is your favorite team? RP: I like the English Premier league. I like the battles, and the work rate is incredible. SA: Who is your favorite player? RP: From a defenderÆs point of view, Paolo Maldini. Also, Edgar Davids. Up front, I like Gabriel Batistuta.