Lane United FC – Eugene, Oregon – PDL

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Most are aware that the previous Assistant Coach, John Galas, for the Portland Thorns has moved on to take up the Head Coach position with newly formed Lane United FC out of Eugene, Oregon.

In making sure contact and progress is not lost with John, I caught up with him the other day and asked him to offer up some information that supporters may be interested to know.

What follows may not be new-news for some, who have followed PDL activities in the past, but for me it helps get a great sense about PDL and the way teams are structured and put together and the progress made by John and his staff in preparation for their first year.

And in case you missed it members of ECHO Squadron in the Timbers Army are also the same folks who are members of the Red Aces in Eugene.

If you’re on Facebook these group pages may be of interest to you:  ECHO Squadron: https://www.facebook.com/groups/205843049567760/275228349295896/?ref=notif&notif_t=like#!/groups/echosquadronTA/  Red Aces: https://www.facebook.com/groups/187169414784249/

So with that here’s a run down on some questions I offered John along with his answers to help set the stage for their first season…

Q:  What is the roster size for Lane United?  A: Per league rules we can carry a registered roster of 26 players.  8 over age players – meaning over 23 years old, and we can carry a max of 8 foreign players – can be a combo/ i.e. Spanish 28 year old..

Q:  Can you break down a list of players (by position) and any past experience they may have in Europe or the States?  A:  Roster not set yet, currently holding trials – but we are looking at bringing in 2-4 spanish players, and have 2 Brazilians on the radar, 1 US/Columbian player..

Q:  How many games will the team play and when does training start?  A:  Season is 14 games long, 7 home 7 away – we will train local players beginning in the next month or so, but we will officially kick things off with our college players joining us in early/mid May to really kick things off.

Q:  Can you give me an idea of the stadium capacity and refresh my memory on your sponsors?  A:  We will be playing at Willamalane (32nd and Main st in Springfield) Capacity will be roughly 1000 – Sponsors as of now include Agate Alley Bistro ,Opine Cellars, Adidas (kit supplier) Umpqua Bank, and currently working on a title kit sponsor which should be announced this week.

Q:  How much of an assitant coach cadre will you have and what sort of statistical analysis will you look to leverage in this first year?  A:  Will look to hire 2/3 assistants – division of labor will include video analysis, specific GK coach, and one top assistant – i will manage the data and try and get as much info as possible on teams which is tough in this league…

Q:  How many teams will you compete against?  A:  7 – PTFC U23’s Seattle Sounders U23’s Vancouver Whitecaps U23’s Crossfire, Kitsap, Victoria, North Sound –

Q:  When will the schedule for the season be published?  A:  Great question! Should have been out two weeks ago.. hopefully a matter of days now!

Q:  Will the team participate in the US Open Cup?  A:  Yes most likely in year two.

If you are interested in following LUFC a bit more closely here is their twitter is www.@LaneUnitedFC and the primary hashtag is #deeplyrooted

I will look to provide updates as time passes and if you have any questions (within reason) about how things are going with the club feel free to DM me throught twitter www.@chrisgluckptfc or send me a note through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/205843049567760/275228349295896/?ref=notif&notif_t=like#!/groups/205843049567760/   Possession with Purpose Soccer Analysis & Consulting.