Coach urges team to form a more perfect Union

Amanda Logan - FreshVoice
Look out, there’s a new Union in town, and its new boss is looking pretty serious.

Philadelphia soccer fans now have their own Major League Soccer team. The Philadelphia Union, wearing navy-blue and gold, will debut next spring at its Chester location, just off the Commodore Barry Bridge.

On May 28, the Union chose its head coach, Peter Nowak. Nowak has the experience necessary to lead the Union to victory.

Josh Gros, who played for Nowak at DC United and is now Nowak’s assistant, said: “Practices are hard, so the team bonds better. He \[Nowak\] gets the team to be one.” “It’s not who has better skills or better endurance; it’s all up here” Nowak said, pointing to his head. He’s a coach who teaches players to believe in themselves and to play 99 percent of a perfect game. He accepts no slackers.

Nowak started playing soccer at 15 as a left wing. “I got the ball, delivered inside” like a wide receiver in football, he said. As his skills and career progressed, he went on to play in Poland, Turkey, Switzerland and Germany, then came to the U.S. to play for the Chicago Fire.

Shortly after his soccer-playing career ended, he began coaching the DC United. He has been the only coach in U.S. soccer history to have won the MLS cup as both a player and a coach. In 2006, he served as the assistant coach of the U-23 Men’s U.S. Olympic team. With a coach with as much knowledge about soccer as Nowak, the Union will be ready to take on its opponents.

In November, the Union will draft 18 players: eight senior players and 10 development players.

Even though the Philadelphia Union is an up-and-coming team, the club has begun thinking of ways to reach out to the youth in the area and plans to promote teams for young children and teens alike.

The young men who try out and who make the teams sponsored by the Union will be rewarded with the chance to play with the new MLS team when they reach the right age and skill level.

“To make dreams come true for the kids” is the goal of having these youth teams, Nowak said. These teams will allow the Union to interact closely with its fans.

According to www.philadelphiaunion.com, a new grass soccer stadium built in Chester holds 18,500 fans. (For concerts, it can hold up to 27,000.) Outside the arena, tailgating and outdoor concerts can take place. The goal of the stadium is to revitalize Chester and attract soccer fans from the whole Philadelphia region.

The Union is marketing aggressively through Facebook and Twitter to attract a fan base, and, given that Philly sports fans show intense support for all of their teams, that shouldn’t be hard.