USL Feature
Monday, February 6, 2012
After playing 28 games in the past two PDL seasons, St. Louis Lions veteran Tyler Nichol was one of the players aiming to make the jump to the professional ranks when he attended the USL PRO Combine presented by Umbro. USLSoccer.com caught up with Nichol last week to talk about his experience, and having Lions coach Tony Glavin present in Bradenton, Fla.
USLSoccer.com: What was your first impression when you got into Bradenton, got into IMG and got into training with your group?
NICHOL: My first impression was I was amazed at the facilities when I arrived at IMG; I was impressed with the first-class facilities there, and then the weather was beautiful. It just seemed really well organized by the USL and by IMG and I was just really impressed overall with everything I saw.
USLSoccer.com: It’s a pretty rigorous examination as far as the training and the three games in quick succession, how do you think you fared and did you think you were able to keep up with the level of intensity that was required?
NICHOL: Yeah, it was definitely very rigorous and tough, especially the first day going in and training and immediately after that going into the fitness testing, and then the three games in two days after that were definitely pretty tough. I think it’s an extra level of intensity, just because of all the guys competing.
Everyone is nervous from the scouts and coaches and everyone wants to compete to get to the next level and get a spot, so I think I did pretty well. I was training pretty vigorously over the past couple of months since my college season was over, so I think I was in pretty good condition physically. I think I held up pretty well, by the third day I think it showed that everyone was a little tired and sore, so maybe the fitness level wasn’t quite there on the third day, but overall I thought I held up pretty well.
USLSoccer.com: What’s the biggest thing you learnt from the combine?
NICHOL: I just learned from the experience, like anyone else that was there, when you get put in that situation just to give it your all. I’d say just do what you know you’re good at, try not to do too much out of my comfort zone, play how I know I can play the best that I can and try not to focus on all the things off the field, all the coaches and everyone watching there. Just try to control what you can on the field, and also try to enjoy the experience. It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing, not many people get to say they’ve done something like that, so it’s important to try to enjoy it.
USLSoccer.com: You played with the St. Louis Lions, what was that experience like, playing in the PDL, and what did that give you as a player?
NICHOL: I think I learned a lot playing with the St. Louis Lions, and playing in the PDL in general. It’s a pretty high-level league and I was very impressed with the level of play in it, training every day in the summer with a good group of guys that they’ve got in St. Louis, a lot of good players, good competition to make you better playing at that higher level, especially when you’ve got a coach like Tony Glavin who has the experience that he does and the knowledge that he does, just to learn from him every day and be part of that great organization and the league, it was just a great experience. I think every player should go through that and experience that. It really helps you develop as a player.
USLSoccer.com: Tony [Glavin] was obviously at the combine. He wasn’t the coach of your team, but was it nice to see him there and be able to talk to him away from the field?
NICHOL: Yeah, absolutely. He wasn’t my coach, but I got to talk to him a lot. Tony and I are very close, the week before the combine I went down and trained with him a little bit at the Lions complex in St. Louis just to prepare myself, and it was definitely good to have him there to talk to between training sessions and at dinner. It was like having someone in your corner, someone there to support you and help you out a little bit.
USLSoccer: What’s the next step for you? Have you heard from any teams, are you getting any feelers as far as training camp is concerned?
NICHOL: I had a little bit of contact with a few teams. I do have an agent, so he’s talked with a few of the coaches for me, and he has a lot of experience doing that, and so we’ve had a little bit of contact so we’re trying to move forward and trying to figure out where we go from here, tryouts or trials somewhere, figuring out where the right spot is for me. Hopefully we’ll find something from it.
USLSoccer.com: If you were to be giving advice to someone who was thinking about doing this next year, what would you tell them?
NICHOL: I’d say just don’t hold back. If you think you’ve got what it takes, take the chance and don’t be scared. Go into with it with the right mind-set and give it your all. It would be a great opportunity, so go for it.