Player moves impact wives, children, too
Family visits for Mike Grella until a few months ago were simple.
Not only was the 31-year-old midfielder’s house on Long Island the only house in which his three children had lived, it sat in proximity to his parents.
A few feet away, to be exact.
“I bought the house next to my parents,” said Grella, who was acquired by Crew SC in December. “So to move and leave all that was really hard, but (the Crew) couldn’t have made it any easier.”
In addition to acquiring young Major League Soccer newcomers such as Eduardo Sosa and Milton Valenzuela during the offseason, the Crew added veterans such as Grella, midfielder Ricardo Clark and forward Gyasi Zardes, all family men with at least two children.
Their adjustment to Columbus go beyond the soccer field as the logistics of moving a family come into play.
For Clark, who was traded early in his MLS career and played in Germany in between stints with the Houston Dynamo, the process has grown easier with repetition. His daughter and son, Amaya and Mateo, will finish the school year in Houston before heading to Columbus.
“Everything’s a process. It takes some settling but first and foremost we gotta make sure they’re taken care of and then after that just focus on my job,” Clark said. “Thankfully I have a great wife (Martha) who is very good at handling logistical things of what’s going on with the family. I’m blessed to have her in my life.”
A move to Columbus is a first for Zardes’ children, Gyan and Maylie Faith. It’s a first for Zardes, too. The Crew’s new forward was born and raised in Hawthorne, California, in the Los Angeles area, played college soccer at Cal State Bakersfield and signed a homegrown contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy as a 21-yearold. He played with the Galaxy for five seasons before being traded to the Crew in January.
“It’s crazy that my kids are experiencing more moving than I did as a kid,” Zardes said. “But it’s been great. My kids love it here. Lot of activities, family-wise. This state has a lot of families and things for families, so it’s been great. The kids are adjusting well and they love it here.”
Coach Gregg Berhalter is well-versed in 2 p.m. Saturday Ch. 53, Spectrum Sports WWCD-FM (102.5)
soccer-related moves, playing in England, Germany and Los Angeles and coaching in Stockholm and Columbus with a family.
He, too, credited his wife, Rosalind, for handling the brunt of each transition.
“I don’t remember one move I’ve been a part of. Seriously. I’ve gotta get my wife some nice presents after every move,” he said. “I think it’s how you embrace it. Especially young families, you are flexible and it becomes this unit that binds together in these new experiences.
“I know for my family in particular it was stuff that we look forward to, new challenges, and we’re excited by the fact of going to LA or going to Sweden or coming here. Those are things that we really look forward to.”
Grella said his kids are too young to understand the move but are so far enjoying their surroundings, recently making a visit to the Columbus Zoo. He has also found that with less extended family in the area, the Grellas are spending more time together.
Grella’s mom and dad are no longer a few feet away but — who knows — could be in the future.
“I would have felt bad selling it,” Grella said of his Long Island house. “So it’s something we’ll probably hold onto. Not saying we’ll move back there — sorry to disappoint mom and dad — but it’s a unique place.”