On Saturday morning, Nashville SC CEO Court Jeske became the first guest on "Nashville Soccer Insiders," a new weekly program on 94.9 FM in Nashville. Jeske and host Julian Council discussed the regular season opener of the U23 squad Saturday night in the Premier Development League.
How the U23 team was built
"We're allowing a platform for the best players of the state and region to have a three-month tryout, if you will," said Jeske. "We're very proud to have 13 Tennesseans on the roster. Before, if you were one of the great players, where do you go? You go to Dallas or Atlanta."
Jeske said the U23 squad was assembled through a combination of referrals from coaches in the region, scouting, and open tryouts.
"We want to bring as many of these players with us [the USL team in 2018] as we can."
Club branding
"We're trying to be very authentic to a club that represents our club and our city," Jeske said. "The elements in our crest embody our city and the time that our club was formed. People say, 'You have the same colors as the L.A. Galaxy.' No, the L.A. Galaxy has the same colors as the city of Nashville."
Some United States soccer franchises go for completely Americanized team names while others adopt European terminology into their branding. Jeske says that by calling the team Nashville Soccer Club, they wanted to establish an authentic, local soccer culture while incorporating the club tradition from abroad.
"You're not just a fan," Jeske said. "You're not just a season ticket holder. You're a part of this. In many cases you get to vote, from who the president is or to who the CEO is."
In addition to The Roadies, established during Nashville FC's days in the NPSL, two new Nashville SC supporters groups have emerged: The Assembly and another group of Mexican-American fans. Jeske said that Ron Deal, a co-founder of The Roadies, will manage the relationship between Nashville SC and it supporter groups in addition to his role as Director of Operations.
MLS to Nashville
With John Ingram buying a majority stake in Nashville SC last week, Nashville now has a unified push to bring MLS to the Music City. There are just four spots currently available for expansion teams and 10 cities competing. Though many of the teams have been around much longer, Nashville is quickly making up for lost time.
"The folks at MLS are looking for a strong ownership group, a stadium, and a robust soccer market," Jeske said. He hinted that an announcement about the stadium should be on the way soon. In January, Mayor Megan Barry proposed the Nashville fairgrounds south of downtown as a potential location for the stadium.
Jeske mentioned that Nashville soccer fans will have plenty of opportunity to demonstrate the city's appetite for the game. Both the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the International Championship Cup are coming through Nissan Stadium this summer.
The Nashville SC U23 side begins its 2017 season Saturday night at 7 p.m. against Peachtree City MOBA at Vanderbilt Stadium. Purchase tickets here.
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