PDL Feature
Thursday, June 26, 2014
The Real Boston Rams get the opportunity to play on the big stage this Saturday as they host the GPS Portland Phoenix at Gillette Stadium in their penultimate home game of the 2014 PDL season.
The game, set to kick off at 12 p.m. ET, is a continuation of the strengthening partnership between the club and its MLS partner, the New England Revolution, who take on the Philadelphia Union later that day at the same stadium. Now in their second season, the Rams have made big strides on and off the field this year.
“I think the players are very excited about it, and I know the staff is,” Rams General Manager John Barata said by phone this week. “To give the kids an opportunity to play in front of all of the MLS coaching staff, who’ll be there to watch them play, it’s always been a very good relationship, and at this point the game will just be the icing on the cake.”
The Rams have already matched their win total of their inaugural season eight games into this campaign, but what has been even more noticeable is the increased numbers of former Revolution Academy players who are competing for the side this season. Barata said that six players have spent time training with the Revolution’s first team, including one who would be training for the remainder of the summer with the side, as potential new homegrown signings look to make their case to join players such as Diego Fagundez and Scott Caldwell on the club’s MLS squad.
The growing relationship between MLS and USL, particularly in the professional ranks, was one of the stimuli for the establishment of the Rams. With the growth of the game in the Northeast, Barata and the Rams ownership group saw an opportunity to provide the same type of outlet that clubs such as Reading United have in offering young players a chance to remain part of a club’s development pyramid.
“We were able to identify a very important tipping point for soccer here in the Northeast, and when we saw USL’s push for affiliation with MLS for [USL PRO], we really made a big jump and tried to meet with the Revolution immediately about becoming their PDL partner,” Barata said. “I think those two things combined allow us to have a pretty healthy marriage with the Revs at this moment, because it was something they were looking for – they had just completed [an affiliation with Rochester to become] their USL PRO [partner] for the reserve squad – and I think it opened the door to let them offer Homegrown Players from their academy to be able to play close to home as well.”
It has also offered the chance to compete in a very strong Northeast Division. The resurgence of the Seacoast United Phantoms and Western Mass Pioneers, combined with the addition of the Montreal Impact U23 and a breakout season for CFC Azul, has brought exciting action and a very different look to the division standings than in the past two seasons.
“The competition in the Northeast is excellent,” Barata said. “One of the challenges we’re always going to face due to our goals is we’re always going to have a younger side, we have a little less experience in terms of playing PDL, but also younger players in terms of the maturation process with our guys because they are a younger group, just because of what our goals are.
“With that being said, we actually play very attractive soccer and we’re playing teams that put us in an environment that allow us to really train these guys at a high level.”
Another step in that maturation process will take place this Saturday, as former Revolution Academy players such as Fabio Machado (four goals) take the field at their parent club’s home for the first time.
It will also mark another milestone for a club that has pushed forward strongly to provide an important platform for player development alongside its fellow clubs in the PDL’s Northeast Division.
“I think we’re heading in the right direction,” Barata said. “We’re not perfect, by any means, and we have a lot to learn still, but I think we’re really trying to do it well, and it’s been fun being charged with keeping this all together, but we’re really doing it as a group here.”