USL Feature
Monday, May 28, 2012
BRANDON, Fla. – An hour before his Ocala Stampede were set to take to the field for their first game in the PDL, with warm-ups going on in front of him as he stood in the shade at VSI Tampa’s JC Handly Park, Co-owner Bill Reed had a confession to make.
“This is actually the first soccer game I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said.
It might seem like a slightly odd thing for someone who has never seen a soccer game to be the co- owner of a soccer team, but the Stampede and Reed’s mission goes far beyond the soccer field. As with USL PRO side the Charlotte Eagles, and other PDL clubs such as Southeast Division rival the Mississippi Brilla, the Stampede are aiming to use soccer to help its outreach ministry, and give local soccer players the opportunity to play at a higher level than is currently offered.
With the sport’s affordability, and popularity around the world, becoming part of the PDL proved to be an ideal fit for Reed and the organization’s goals.
“Soccer is the number-one sport in the world, and you don’t need cleats, you don’t have to have a bunch of equipment,” Reed said. “You can go out, you can play, so it was just a great way, we felt, to get the kids [involved].”
As he spoke before the Stampede’s first game, Reed said he couldn’t wait to see the product his side was going to put on the field. So far, the Stampede’s fans have had a lot to enjoy with the side taking three wins from its first five matches, all on the road, to sit atop the Southeast Division in its inaugural season. Much of the credit for that goes to Technical Director Matt Weston, who along with Head Coach Anderson DaSilva, has put together a squad capable of competing immediately in a traditionally tough division.
Weston’s path to Ocala came at a time when he was considering his future in soccer. After a tough year professionally and personally, he had returned to his native England to figure out if he wanted to remain in soccer, or return to the U.S.
“I really wasn’t going to come back out,” Weston said. “The New York experience drained the life out of me, ... so it was an awful year. Ultimately, I went back to England in September, and I went to church so much, and prayed about what I wanted to do the rest of my life, and soccer, and whether it was in soccer.
“I reached out to [Charlotte Eagles coach] Mark Steffens, and Mark said, ‘Matt, you can come here whenever you want and assist me and Steve,’ and he then pointed me in the direction of the Ocala Stampede, and I asked him, ‘Mark, do you know any of the guys that are involved with the Stampede?’ and he said ‘no, but reach out to them, see what you think’. I sent them an email and the rest is history. It felt so right to come to this, to get my hands dirty and get into the foundation of something which is truly special, in my opinion.”
Weston’s influence has seen a number of players from the northeast, where he still has numerous coaching contacts, arrive in Ocala to be part of the team. So far, though, the player that has shined brightest is Brazilian Carlos Araujo, who has scored six goals in five games, putting him tied for first in the PDL.
With Weston and DaSilva taking care of things on the field, Reed has been building the club off the field, and has been very pleased with the support he has already seen from the local community. A number of sponsorship deals have helped promote the club’s presence, and a good amount of travelling support was with the side when it arrived for its inaugural contest against VSI.
With the awareness the club has been able to build, the Stampede enter their home opener on Tuesday night at Trinity Catholic Stadium against Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy with high hopes for the remainder of the season. But the bigger picture is always going to be at the forefront for Reed, Weston and the Stampede’s organization.
“Honestly, I’ve never been happier in all my life, because ultimately, we’re putting a product on the field that can change people’s lives,” Weston said. “We’re not going to knock a bible over someone’s head, I’m not like that, but what we’re going to do is have a professionalism about the organization where we treat people right, we have good people in the community, we do outreach like the Charlotte Eagles and grow that side of the program as well as the soccer, and if we get results, great.”