Professional and semi-pro soccer in Pittsburgh has a long history, much of it distinguished (long-time fans will remember the late Nicholas "Nick" DiOrio) and most of it under the Steelers-, Pirates-, and Penguins-dominated radar.
The most recent entry in Pittsburgh's pro soccer history is the Riverhounds, which began play in 1999 as an A-League entry but struggled financially, finally going on hiatus altogether while reorganization proceeded.
And now they're back, no longer part of the A-League -- now the USL (United Soccer Leagues) First Division, but viable and competing in the USL Second Division. Pittsburgh deserves better than third division pro soccer, but it's the pro soccer we have. Welcome back, 'Hounds!
The team will be playing its home games at the Chartiers Valley High School Stadium, which is in Bridgeville just off of I-79 near the Kirwan Heights exit. The home opener is this Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.
The club has a "Steel Army" supporters group, which has its own website.
Showing posts with label pittsburgh soccer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pittsburgh soccer. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, July 13, 2007
Good News from the 'Hounds
The Resilient City Diaspora is at work already:
Link
As a newcomer to Pittsburgh soccer almost 10 years ago, I'm pleased to see something like this finally start to come together. The partnership focuses on player development, not building an entertainment franchise, and that's exactly the right way to go. Suburban soccer in Pittsburgh has long lagged its counterparts in other regions, largely, I think, because the lack of meaningful foreign immigration to Pittsburgh in the latter part of the 20th century means that the player and coaching pool here didn't diversify in the way that it did in many other communities.
I grew up in suburban California in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing with and being coached by Europeans, Latin Americans, East Asians, and immigrants from Caribbean countries, especially Jamaica. Much of that diversity was the influx of immigrants to California, but much of it was leveraging the international populations of the local universities. My guess is that Columbus soccer flourished before Pittsburgh because of the influence of the OSU population. Connecting Pittsburgh soccer to an international population, even one that's not as diverse as would be ideal, can only be a good thing. We'll be dancing and dribbling to the Merseybeat.
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who desire to become one of the premier soccer clubs in the United States, yesterday took a huge step toward that goal.
The Riverhounds signed a partnership agreement with the Everton Football Club of the English Premier League and will launch a soccer training academy this fall for youth players. The partnership will enable the Riverhounds to model the academy after the highly successful Everton training academy, use the same training methods and some of the same coaches.
Link
As a newcomer to Pittsburgh soccer almost 10 years ago, I'm pleased to see something like this finally start to come together. The partnership focuses on player development, not building an entertainment franchise, and that's exactly the right way to go. Suburban soccer in Pittsburgh has long lagged its counterparts in other regions, largely, I think, because the lack of meaningful foreign immigration to Pittsburgh in the latter part of the 20th century means that the player and coaching pool here didn't diversify in the way that it did in many other communities.
I grew up in suburban California in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing with and being coached by Europeans, Latin Americans, East Asians, and immigrants from Caribbean countries, especially Jamaica. Much of that diversity was the influx of immigrants to California, but much of it was leveraging the international populations of the local universities. My guess is that Columbus soccer flourished before Pittsburgh because of the influence of the OSU population. Connecting Pittsburgh soccer to an international population, even one that's not as diverse as would be ideal, can only be a good thing. We'll be dancing and dribbling to the Merseybeat.
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