Time in NASL helped Impact’s Mallace
STINT IN MINNESOTA taught midfielder confidence and determination
It would have been easy for Calum Mallace to shrug and pout, to complain about his lot in life a year ago, when the Impact approached him about being loaned to Minnesota.
After all, in theory, he was going to an inferior league — departing the penthouse known as Major League Soccer for the North American Soccer League. But Mallace had no malice when it came to joining Minnesota United FC.
“That would have been the worst mindset anyone could possibly go into. It’s still pros playing against pros on a Saturday,” Mallace said Friday, after the Impact completed its first week of indoor training camp workouts at Marie-Victorin College.
“You can’t go in there thinking you’re better than anyone else,” added the midfielder, who turned 24 on Jan. 10. “I was part of the team and the team accepted me.”
It certainly didn’t hurt that Montreal management, somewhat deliberately, offered Minnesota as a viable option. Although born in Scotland, Mallace and his family moved to Minnesota, just outside the Twin Cities in West St. Paul, when he was 9. Mallace didn’t move back in with his family last season, but lived in an apartment close enough to return to the family residence twice each week for home-cooked meals. The support of family and friends proved invaluable.
The Impact was l oaded at midfield, and Mallace struggled for minutes in his second season. He received only four starts, coming on twice as a substitute. When he was presented with the option in mid-July of going to Minnesota — and the final decision was his, without pressure — the 6-foot-1, 181 pounder jumped at the opportunity.
He became a fixture at midfield for Minnesota, starting all but three games. He arrived in town on a Tuesday night and, in the team’s next match, came on as a sub, playing 30 minutes. He completed the season with a goal and an assist.
“It did him good to go into an environment where three points every game were important, the pressure of winning, especially the position he plays,” explained Impact sporting director Nick De Santis.
“We felt it was a good environment for him ... where he’s playing in front of friends and family to give him more motivation.
“It’s hard for a player from MLS to go down and experience the lower levels,” De Santis added. “Calum took it with the right frame of mind and, knowing he’s from there, motivated him that much extra.”
The Impact always has been high on Mallace’s potential.
He was named the Big East midfielder of the year in 2011, his senior year at Marquette University. Over four years, he played a total of 69 games, including 62 starts, registering 13 goals and 13 assists.
He was a first-team conference all-star as a senior, scoring three goals and six assists in 16 games, having been named to the second all-star team the previous season.
Montreal selected him in the second round (20th overall) of the 2012 SuperDraft.
In 2011, Mallace played amateur with the Chicago Fire Premier, part of the United Soccer League’s Premier Development League. Coincidentally, that was Frank Klopas’s first season coaching Chicago’s MLS entry.
“I know him well. In that draft, we tried to get him but Montreal beat us to it,” said Klopas, in his first season coaching the Impact.
“He’s a player that’s willing to work hard and learn. He absorbs a lot of things and his commitment’s great. It’s important what he does here to prepare himself and gain the confidence of the coaches, so we can give him opportunities.”
While the arrival of Klopas, who replaces Marco Schallibaum, signifies a fresh start for the players, Mallace, a broadcasting major, realizes it hardly brings him any guarantees. The depth at midfield remains unchanged from last season.
Nonetheless, Mallace gained confidence and de- termination in Minnesota. He now appears more selfassured, believing he can develop into a competent transitional midfielder, assisting in Montreal’s offence while never losing sight of the defensive aspect of play.
“I got to start, in the middle of the park, where I prefer to play,” he explained. “It helped me mature and grow. Guys started to look up to me as a leader. I hadn’t experienced that at the professional level. It made me realize what kind of player I want to be.
“I’m that guy that has the strength and the courage in the midfield to hold it up, hold up the team,” Mallace continued. “When you play that position you set the tempo, the pace of the game. I can be that leader on this team as well.”
Now Mallace hopes to become more of a regular in the team’s rotation.
Meanwhile, the first week of camp was devoted primarily to fitness, somewhat predictably. While the players did scrimmage, those sessions were reserved to the half pitch. More emphasis will be placed on tactical work beginning next week.
“I felt the attitude and work has improved,” Klopas said. “This is a group that’s willing to work.
“It’s good to have this in the beginning. But let’s have it in December. That’ll mean we’re playing in the final.”