USL Feature
Monday, March 26, 2012
Entering the offseason, Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser had some clear priorities as to which players were going to form the core of his team for the 2012 USL PRO season.
One of the players at the top of the list; center back Colin Falvey, who returns to the club for his third season this summer to continue the level of excellence he has displayed each of the past two years.
“He’s a guy that shows up every day, does his job and makes the players around him better through his communication and his organization,” Anhaeuser said. “He’s not the guy who’s 6-foot-5, but he plays very big, he’s very experienced, even though he’s not the oldest guy, he’s got a lot of experience out on the field that he just brings to the game every time that we wanted to have so that we could solidify the side defensively. He really works hard at carrying the defense, and for me it was a priority to make sure we’d be bringing him back in.”
That was certainly fine with the 26-year-old Falvey, who came to the U.S. in 2009 to join the Wilmington Hammerheads after starting his career in his native Ireland. For the past two seasons he’s been paired predominantly with veteran John Wilson, who appears set to return again this summer, with the duo’s chemistry being evident from a very early stage.
“It’s quite funny, since my first week here we just hit it off,” Falvey said. “I think we complement each other very well. Even despite his age, John is still pretty quick and anything that gets over my head he goes and deals with it. He lets me go and deal with the first ball, which is a big part of my game, I just think we complement each other very well.
“The two seasons we’ve been together we’ve been pretty strong, and hopefully this year we can continue it. If you can keep clean sheets, you’re going to be there or thereabouts, and we’ve got some good young players this year so hopefully they’ll jell in quickly and we’ll have another good season.”
Falvey’s leadership will have a big part to play as the Battery aim to restore their position among the title contenders. A vocal presence on the field, and in the locker room, Anhaeuser said Falvey’s communication skills have played a big role in the club’s defensive success.
“You’ll hear him, even when we’re the visiting team on the road, you’re going to hear him, and other players are going to hear him, and that’s his best attribute, which is needed in the back,” Anhaeuser said. “You have to have organization and communication or else things are just going to fall apart, and he brings those two things every single day, every single game, and of course he does have a tenacity on the field where he wants to make sure you don’t lose, and that’s something you love to have in a player.”
Add in the leadership Falvey shows off the field, helping the club’s young players adapt to professional soccer, and he has become invaluable as a leader for the team.
“He really makes sure the other guys do what they need to do to have success, and you have to have players like that on the field with experience, you have to have older guys around some of the younger guys so that you make sure you get the best out of them on the field, but also off the field,” Anhaeuser said. “They learn what they have to do to take care of themselves properly and to become very good professionals throughout the season, because the season’s not just two, three months long. We’re already a month, six weeks into preseason camp and we haven’t even played a game, so it can be a grueling preseason and season, and these guys have got to realize that and it even gets longer in other places.”
But now, with less than two weeks before the Battery open the season against longtime rivals the Richmond Kickers, the preparations for the new season are almost done. And as far as he is concerned, Falvey is pleased with where he and his teammates stand as they ready their challenge for a championship.
“I’m hoping and thinking we’re going to be defensively sound, which we were the past two seasons,” Falvey said. “Obviously last season with losing Lamar and Tommy, you’re losing a lot of goals and assists from those boys, so it was tough last year, but this year bringing in Sallieu Bundu, he’s going to be a big player, he’s older, holds the ball up well, he’s going to help the young guys.
“I think he’s going to have a big season along with Dane [Kelly], because they complement each other very well. One to hold the ball up, one to get in behind with his pace, I think offensively looking at preseason we’re going to be a lot more dangerous, which is obviously what we wanted to rectify from last season. If we can get a good balance between the two, keep the shutouts, add the scoring, I think we’ll be fine.”