Los Angeles Blues News Release -- www.labluesprosoccer.com
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
FULLERTON, Calif. – The Los Angeles Blues are excited to announce they have secured the services of former Kitsap Pumas and University of San Francisco star Bryan Burke for the 2012 USL PRO campaign, pending league approval. The 22-year-old joins the Fullerton-based club following his MVP performance in the Premier Development League championship game, in which he assisted on Robby Christner’s 11th minute goal that gave the Pumas a 1-0 victory over the Laredo Heat.
Burke is expected to provide his new side with some crucial versatility during the upcoming season. Having spent the majority of his career as an outside midfielder, the Orange County-native was asked to transition to forward for the Pumas. Now another position may be added to his repertoire, Blues Head Coach Charlie Naimo revealed when asked to retrace the process that led to Burke joining his team.
The man in charge of Los Angeles gave Associate Head Coach Shayon Jalayer much of the credit for bringing out the best in the former University of San Francisco captain during the offseason training sessions.
“Bryan has an agent to whom I speak regularly,” Naimo explained. “He knows what I want in a player and suggested Bryan, who made the effort to come into camp. We thought he was very solid, but what sealed the deal for us was an idea Shay had. We always like to move promising players around on the field to see what position might suit them best. Shay one day put him at right outside back and we instantly saw something in him that suggested it could be his spot at a higher level.
“When we played Bryan at the same position in the November friendly against Chivas USA, he was fantastic. I talked to my coaching staff later that day and we decided that we had to offer him a contract. We’re looking at him as an attacking outside back and think that he can earn some points from that position. But given the grind of the USL PRO schedule, it’s good to know that he’ll be very comfortable playing as a forward or as an outside midfielder if we should ever get decimated.”
Burke has embraced the chance to become a more complete player by learning the skills needed to succeed as a defender. The former Kitsap Puma remembered the first time he heard of the Blues, who played their inaugural season in USL PRO in 2011.
“I saw them playing on TV in the summer and they looked like a really good team,” the newest roster member said. “My agent started talking to Charlie and I was eventually invited to participate in the training sessions. I really had no idea what to expect going in, but the next thing I knew I was enjoying it a lot. I really like Charlie and the entire coaching staff, and I’m extremely excited that they saw something in me that made them offer me a contract.”
In addition to being intrigued by Burke’s versatility, Naimo and Jalayer also found the 22-year-old’s personality to be well suited for what they’re trying to build.
“I’m not so sure Bryan loved the idea of transitioning to outside back at first, but he’s a good professional who will do anything to reach his full potential,” the Blues Head Coach said. “That’s the kind of guy we want on our team – someone who respects our opinions enough to say, ‘Hey, I’m willing to do it. I’m willing to try anything if you think it’s going to make me successful.’”
After several weeks of working out with the Blues, Burke is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming campaign.
“It will be my first year in USL PRO, so it’s difficult for me to make predictions,” he said. “That said, everything I’ve seen so far makes me think we can be very successful. The team did pretty well last year, and I know Charlie wants to build on that and do even better in 2012.
“He stresses keeping possession and playing simple soccer, which is something I really like and that a lot of players in camp are capable of. So I think there’s plenty of reason to be upbeat. Hopefully we can build a good enough team to give ourselves a realistic shot at winning the championship.”