USL Feature
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Coming back from a serious injury is never easy, but as the Charlotte Eagles’ Chris Salvaggione found it can be a lot easier with the right support system around you.
Now, after suffering a partial tear of his patella tendon in 2010, the UNC-Charlotte alum is back to full fitness for the first time in awhile, and is ready to help the teammates who supported him make a run at the USL PRO playoffs.
“That chemistry within the team, it’s more like a family environment,” Salvaggione said of the Eagles. “You’ve got guys around you where it’s about so much more than just a game and playing and going home and doing your own thing, you’re hanging out with these guys every single day, you have their support, you have their prayers behind you, and it helps you stay positive when you’re going through something like that.”
The Eagles do have the majority of their 2011 roster returning, but Coach Mark Steffens is certainly eager to see what Salvaggione can do now back to 100 percent. After showing an uptick in form after completing his recovery from injury, the 24-year-old appears to have regained his confidence and is hoping for a big season.
“I think a lot of it was his knee, and the because his knee was in constant pain, he lost some confidence on the ball,” Steffens said “When that knee healed, he started getting his confidence back in training, and that confidence translated into playing better in the games. He’s really worked hard in the offseason, so coming into preseason he’s been one of our top players, scoring goals, and just really all over the field, he’s been really sharp. I know the guys are real excited about him, I just hope it continues.”
While his teammates are excited about the form Salvaggione is showing this preseason, Salvaggione is excited to be a member of the Eagles. While he knew of the club from his time in college, it wasn’t until he joined the club a little more than a year ago that he fully appreciated what it could offer him both on and off the field.
“My decision to join the Eagles is definitely one of the best choices I’ve made in my professional career, just in terms of my growth as a player but my growth into a man, spiritually and in my relationship with my wife,” Salvaggione said. “It’s so much more than just football, so much more than you get to work and you leave, you see the guys for those two hours every day. That camaraderie, that chemistry, it has so much to do with the attitudes these guys have off the field.
“When we leave the pitch, it’s not like, ‘alright, practice is over, see you later.’ Guys hang around for 15, 30 minutes just talking because it’s that family environment. You feel secure, you feel safe with everyone there, the camaraderie that comes on the field is really the time we spend off the field showing up on the field.”
In addition to the bonds Salvaggione has formed with his teammates, he has also become a presence in the club’s Urban Eagles outreach program. With the Eagles as focused on finding success on the field as they are in making a difference in Charlotte’s inner cities, Salvaggione’s presence has been a pleasant boost to the club’s off-the-field work.
“For us, those guys are key,” Steffens said. “If we don’t have guys like that, our ministry really would lag. We have a number of really, really committed players who live downtown with the underprivileged kids so they can spend a lot of time with them. Chris doesn’t live down there with his wife, but he does drive down there and spend a lot of time with the kids, so people like Chris, and really half of our squad, are really like that, without guys like that we wouldn’t be half of what we are.”
The Eagles are now hoping Salvaggione can make a similar impact on the field. With a slow start having eventually cost them a place in the playoffs in 2011, the team is focused on a strong start as it tries to return to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
While the Eagles might not be the league’s best team on paper, the chemistry they have developed seems set to make them a tough proposition for their opponents this season.
“When you’re younger and you’re playing club soccer, you’re hanging out with your friends and then you go to practice,” Salvaggione said. “Some teams may not be as talented as other teams, but they’ve been around together, they know each other so well that their success comes just from being comfortable on the field, and I think that’s where we’re going to find our success this year.”