Cavalry FC preparing to go on the attack
Coaching staff leaning toward fast-paced style when CPL debuts
It’s way too early to start speculating about who will or won’t be on the field when Cavalry FC kicks off the inaugural Canadian Premier League season in April.
Head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. hasn’t started signing players yet, after all. Local talent is the priority, but there are enough deserving hopefuls that guessing at a final roster is a fool’s errand.
On Tuesday, though, Wheeldon and the Cavalry FC management group introduced two new additions to the coaching staff, and their identities hint at a commitment to playing fast, aggressive soccer.
Martin Nash was named assistant coach and technical director, while Jordan Santiago was introduced as Cavalry FC’s goalkeeper coach.
The way Santiago explains it, with Nash and Wheeldon running the show, the team is going to attack — a lot.
“It has to be exciting,” Santiago said. “As a coach, I want to be excited by my team and what I’m watching. Knowing how Tommy ’s teams play and Nashy’s background, it’s going to be quick-paced and fun to watch.
“It depends who we get in and the quality we have, but the one thing I can say is it’s going to be fast-paced because that’s the way they like to play and it’s a good way to beat your opponent.” Santiago knows better than most what the Canadian Premier League can mean for aspiring professional soccer players across the country, but especially in cities like Calgary where there has been no opportunity to stay at home.
Currently coaching with the Calgary Rangers Soccer Club and Mount Royal University men’s team, the 27-year-old initially had to leave Calgary as a teenager to pursue his professional dreams, and spent time with Reading FC, Cardiff City FC and West Ham United — all in Britain — as well as SC Veendam in the Netherlands.
“There was nothing back then. There was no university option if you wanted to go pro, and even if you found one, you had to go to the States,” Santiago said. “It’s so important having the professional environment with the Cavalry, the young guys can experience it. You can speak to coaches around the city, and there’s lots of kids who say they want to go pro, but once you’re in the professional environment you don’t understand what it takes.”
Nash is someone who certainly has an understanding of that.
After a long playing career that included playing for the men’s national team that won the 2000 Gold Cup — arguably the biggest success the men’s program has ever had — Nash has held coaching positions with both the Ottawa Fury and in the Vancouver Whitecaps residency and PDL program.
In May, he joined forces with Wheeldon and was made assistant coach of the Calgary Foothills PDL team that won the league championship.
And yes, he likes his teams to emphasize offence.
“Martin had a good record as an attacking player, and even though I played my career as a defender, I loved attacking teams,” Wheeldon said. “When you look at Real Madrid and Barcelona and Arsenal, to a certain extent, their players can play with the ball. We want to see that, we want to put on a show.”