MLS draft a new experience for Rennie
Posted January 6, 2012 3:32 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
For years, Martin Rennie watched from the sidelines. Now, he’s preparing to be in the thick of the action.
The Vancouver Whitecaps hold the second overall pick in next Thursday’s Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The draft will be Rennie’s first since he was named the Whitecaps’ new coach last year, but it won’t be his first time at the event.
The Scotsman was a regular attendee when he coached the Carolina RailHawks of the NASL from 2009 to 2011. He used the opportunity to network and make contacts, but seeing how he coached a team one tier below MLS, there wasn’t anything he could do if there was a NCAA prospect he liked.
That’s changed. Now he’s a kid in a candy store and with the second overall pick in his pocket, Rennie will be one of the major power players to watch for at the draft in Kansas City.
“It’ll actually be nice to be in the middle of it for a change,” Rennie told sportsnet.ca.
Rennie said he has a firm idea of who the Whitecaps will select with the No. 2 pick for now — that could change by next week, especially with the ongoing MLS Combine in Florida.
“We’re coming into the combine where there are some international players we haven’t seen, so we have to still be open-minded,” Rennie said.
“We’ve definitely done a fair bit of research and have good ideas about what we’d like to do, but we’re not closed to anything because it’s still a few days away, and you never know what can change in that time.”
As far as his draft philosophy goes, Rennie will be looking to select players that he feels will fill holes on the Whitecaps roster.
“You want to try to get the best player available but only if he fits into your needs. Right now, we have two very good left backs — I don’t think it would be wise of us to get a third left back, even if that left back was the best player at the draft,” Rennie explained.
The draft won’t help the Whitecaps fill all the roster gaps, though. Rennie believes there will still be work to be done once the draft is over in terms of recruiting and signing new players.
“Across the broad we have areas where we can improve upon,” Rennie said. “I don’t think it’s just one position and we’re all set.”
With such a high pick, Rennie thinks that whoever they select will have a good chance to make an immediate impact in the upcoming MLS season.
“With the second pick it’s a possibility. In the past we’ve seen players who have been drafted and have played a lot and contributed straight away. It’s definitely possible,” Rennie said.
Athletic attributes are just one consideration. Rennie stresses that finding a player with the right mental tools is just as important because the transition from the NCAA to the pros can be too much for some young players to handle.
“It’s difficult to know that up front but you have to try to evaluate it because it happens every year — a guy comes out of college that is very talented, this is the first time they don’t start for their team and they fall apart,” Rennie warned.
Teams can put too much pressure on their draft picks. Sometimes they have to exercise patience and realize that it’s going to take some players, even the most accomplished college stares, more time to find their footing in MLS.
“In college it’s generally a three-month season, and that’s not what they’re about to do in MLS. Pre-season is almost two months, so it’s a very different prospect for these guys and it does take time for them to adjust,” Rennie said.
NOTE: Gerry Dobson and John Molinaro will be in Kansas City next week to cover the MLS SuperDraft for Sportsnet and sportsnet.ca.
