SEMI-PRO SPORTS
as both a six-year professional soccer player and a successful
coach of both men’s and women’s teams for 40 years. He has
mentored more than 50 players who have gone on to play
MLS and almost a dozen to the full men’s national team,
which represents the U.S. every four years in the World
Cup competition.
The Tritons would be the peak for the pyramid that is
the path to the major league, Durkin says. “Our goal is to
move players along,” he says. “You have turnover in your
rosters because you are always building a team. We want
to be focused on young players and see 17- to 19-year-olds
get a chance to move up and play pro soccer. The team was
well-supported in the past and with the connection to Club
Med Academy, we are providing something different. There
is more expertise in coaching and our staff is highly credentialed.
We have five times more training than other teams and
a proven curriculum. We push kids with 20 hours of training
each week. But you don’t want to burn these kids out because
the majority will be going back to college and playing soccer.
The biggest challenge is the short time for preparation, but
we hit the ground running.”
MOVING UP
The hope is that within three to five years, the Tritons
would move up to play in the United Soccer League One
with games nine months of the year. “The goal for the league
is a USL One team in this market, and the team would
become ingrained in the community,” says Eric Arbuzow,
technical director for the Tritons.
“USL One wants 3,000 to 5,000 fans per game. The Surf had
2,500 to 3,000 fans at every home game. The soccer commu- >>
Thomas Durkin brings a wealth of experience as a professional soccer
player and coach to Club Med, where he is head of the Soccer Academy
and head coach of the newly formed Treasure Coast Tritons.
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Port St. Lucie Magazine 21
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