USL Feature
Friday, October 7, 2011
By NICHOLAS MURRAY
From a PDL tryout to the USL PRO All-League team, Dayton’s George Davis IV has come a long way in the past two years.
After scoring seven goals in USL PRO this summer, the Dutch Lions forward was named to the All-League Second Team as he continued to build on the foundation built in the PDL the season before and the University of Kentucky before that.
“I heard about the new team coming and that they would be giving PDL players the Dutch experience; all the players they were bringing over really intrigued me,” Davis said by phone this week. “So I went to the tryout and performed well and the rest is history. It was definitely a blessing to get an opportunity for me when the Dutch Lions came to Dayton.”
And while the Dutch Lions struggled in their first season as a professional side, Davis was one of their bright spots as the season went on. Getting the opportunity to use his speed in the club’s traditionally Dutch 4-3-3 formation, the 24-year-old was a constant threat to opposing defenses despite the club’s inconsistency in other area.
Davis, though, believes the club learned a lot from its first season. Certainly, as the season went on the club’s fortunes improved, with the Dutch Lions’ young fulcrum developing together as the season went on.
“I feel it grew a lot, everyone from the very top of the organization to the bottom, there were learning experiences for all of us,” Davis said. “We had some quality players on our team, guys like Joe [Tait], but I think we were inconsistent. We had some tough road trips, being on the road for 10 games straight, we had injuries, it played a role in the season for every team but I feel like we were less prepared than most others.
“In the upcoming year I feel like Dayton is going to better prepare themselves as far as depth of the team and making sure the players from 1 to 20 or 25 are ready to compete and make an impact.”
Tait, of course, has already taken his opportunity to move to the next level, signing last month with the Philadelphia Union. Davis and Tait remain in touch, talking about the level of competition in MLS and providing encouragement to one another as they push to continue to develop.
Pushing himself to move higher has been at the forefront of Davis’ plans since he transferred from Bowling Green to Kentucky before his junior season of college soccer.
“It was a big learning experience for me,” Davis said. “I was coming from a team at Bowling Green where I was one of the better players and I was a leader and I went to a program where I had guys I could look up to and guys who could help me and coach me. Moving from the bottom to a team that could be in the Top 25 on any given week, it helped me. Coach [Ian] Collins and the coaching staff, they were tough on me, they were hard on me, but it made me a better player.”
That development has continued with the Dutch Lions. After growing up watching USL soccer, and seeing the path it had provided to others to move on to MLS, Davis was eager to prove that he belonged at this level.
“I had always wondered what the level was,” Davis said. “When you’re actually performing well, being a key player and making an impact, it makes me wonder how much further can I go, what level can I reach. It pushes me on to move higher.”
Following Tait in making the jump to MLS is now Davis’ goal. Whether he makes that move is yet to be determined, of course, and if the opportunity doesn’t come he’ll be more than happy to continue his development with the Dutch Lions. With a strong rookie season under his belt, Davis has used the knowledge that he can compete with the best USL PRO has to offer as motivation for next season.
“I can’t allow myself to fall off,” Davis said. “I’ve got to maintain fitness and try to get more fit, try to work on things technically, fundamentals. It gave me a spark, this season did, because it made me realize a lot of things, it made me realize that I could play at this level, it acted as a motivator.”