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Kamal Hylton ,

February 19, 2015 Email Kamal Hylton On Twitter:

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Alan Koch

In the first of our series of interviews with USL coaches, Kamal Hylton had a chance to chat with Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (WFC2) head coach Alan Koch ahead of the team’s inaugural campaign. In the interview, we touch on a variety of topics including Koch’s coaching/scouting background, how the team is preparing, the importance USL will have on the Canadian Men’s national team program and building competitive rivalry matches.



RedNation Online: How are preparations going ahead of WFC2’s first season in the USL?



Alan Koch: Things are going well. Obviously we’re starting from scratch with a new team so we have to build our roster. Thankfully we’re with an existing MLS club, so several players that will be playing for us are already in preseason training with the first team and then we start our preseason next Monday (March 2nd).



RNO: What teams will you be playing during preseason?



Alan Koch: We’re going to go down and play Seattle Sounders 2, Oregon State (NCAA Div-1) will be coming up to play us, as well as SFU (Simon Fraser University) and UBC (University of British Columbia) our two big local universities.



RNO: Could you give readers some quick background on your coaching/scouting career to this point?



Alan Koch: Of course. I was with the Whitecaps this last season as a scout, mainly preparing them for the MLS draft and then on the coaching side I’ve spent the last decade in the college game as an assistant coach and head coach. I was down in the States coaching at the NCAA and NAIA level and then have been coaching at Simon Fraser University for the last seven years in the NCAA Div-2, as well as doing some coaching for the Whitecaps W-League team.



RNO: What about the WFC2 coaching opportunity interested you at this point in your career?



Alan Koch: I’ve been presented with opportunities to join professional teams the last few years in different places around the world, but none were quite the right fit. This was a great opportunity to get back working with the Whitecaps in a full-time position and not even have to leave my adopted hometown. So it was great, it was a chance to join a professional team that shares the same vision that I have for the team right now and to be able to stay in Vancouver.



RNO: What is the Whitecaps style/philosophy and how do you fit in?



Alan Koch: Good question. I think the style is to play an attacking brand of football, play a high pace style that’s position-oriented but looking towards the outcome of scoring goals. From a playing personnel perspective, the club is based a lot on youth with an eye on helping them develop and giving the opportunity to get minutes. Carl Robinson (Vancouver Whitecaps head coach) has been playing a lot of young players in MLS. We’ll continue to do that with the USL team.



RNO: Do you feel your connection between SFU and the Whitecaps is an asset?



Alan Koch: It definitely is. If you look, we actually drafted from Simon Fraser this last year with Jovan Blagojevic, so I get to continue working with a player I worked with in the college game coming into the pros. Simon Fraser is the only Canadian university that competes in the NCAA, so seeing draft eligible players is an asset. To get drafted under the current system in MLS you need to be playing in the NCAA or NAIA. My network that I established with all those coaches and players will definitely help here with WFC2. I’ll be a huge part in helping put together the draft list and see who we draft. A lot of the players that we draft will alway start in the USL team as they prove themselves and hopefully work their way up to the MLS team. So I think the connection between what I was doing as SFU and now with the Whitecaps is seamless. A lot of what I did there I can carry over to this position, but a lot of it will see me continue to rely on that network.



RNO: How important is WFC2 to the development of the Canadian Men’s national team?



Alan Koch: I think it’s huge. One of the biggest challenges for young Canadian players has been has been transitioning from an academy team, youth team or a university into MLS. There really was a huge gap in the system and I believe all three Canadian teams having these USL teams is really going to help give more opportunities to Canadian players, which will help their development. Hopefully we can all push our players on to the MLS level, but at the same time this is going to help all our various Canadian national teams.



RNO: WFC2 just signed three young Canadians in Jackson Farmer Jordan Haynes and Mitch Piraux. Could you tell me about them?



Alan Koch: Yes I can. I have actually seen them quite a bit in the last little while. They’re three very talented young players, three different types of players and are the types of young Canadians I was referencing when saying they got to a certain level and weren’t getting the opportunities. They’re guys that will be very fortunate to get this opportunity, but they’ve worked hard to get themselves where they are right now and I look forward to pushing all three of them and helping see where we can take them.



RNO: What does each guy bring to the table and what can fans expect out of them?



Alan Koch: Mitch Piraux’s work rate is through the roof, one of the fittest players we have in our entire club. He’s also very good off the ball, willing to learn and has a huge appetite for the game. Jackson Farmer is a big defender, but also very comfortable on the ball. He can play as a central defender but also as a right fullback. He’ll be an option we can use to play the ball out of the back. Jordan Haynes is a very talented left-footed player and very versatile. He can be used anywhere up and down the left side of the field as a left back, left midfielder or left winger.



RNO: What about some other guys that are signed to the Whitecaps like goalkeeper Marco Carducci, forward Caleb Clarke or midfielder Marco Bustos. Is the plan to have those guys with you?



Alan Koch: They’re with the MLS team right now fighting it out for a first team place. They’re all signed to that team, but them and a bunch of other guys will probably be going up and down between the two teams. Any player that’s struggling to get minutes, which may include those three young guys, will have the chance to come down with us and get minutes.



RNO: Looking at the league itself, with about half the teams being new, does this level the playing field for you being in your first season?



Alan Koch: I think it’s going to be a level playing field for everybody coming in, even for the teams that have been in the league before because it’s a completely different league. It’s not the same format and structure they’re familiar with and for us new teams it’s almost going to be like a baptism of fire. It’s going to be an open league and you can only speculate at this point where teams will finish.



RNO: How important do you think it is building a competitive rivalry not only with the Canadian teams in TFC II and FC Montreal but also Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders 2 and Portland Timbers 2?



Alan Koch: I think it’s huge. In football it’s very important to have those rivalries. It adds to the whole experience that we all have, it adds to the atmosphere. It’s amazing for the fans as you can see in MLS with the Cascadia games between us, Portland and Seattle, with fans being able to travel up and down the I-5 and get to the games pretty easily. Then from a Canadian perspective it’s great to have the city rivalries between Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. They exist in every sport and exist in our sport. I think all of us having two teams now adds to that rivalry. People that might not be able to go to the MLS games can come to the USL games. Our home opener is going to be against TFC II, so I’m sure we’ll have a good crowd out for that and it’s very healthy for the sport and each of our clubs to have those rivalries.



RNO: Which of these rivalry games do you think will be the most important (generate the most crowds and excitement)?



Alan Koch: I think the fact we play Seattle and Portland more than anyone else is just going to add to that rivalry for the players coaches and fans. I personally think it’s really nice that we host TFC II in our first ever game at home. That will be really cool and we should get a good crowd. I think the way the league is structured this year, playing Seattle and Portland so many times, there will be a bit of spice in those games.



RNO: Finally, what would be considered a successful first season in the USL?



Alan Koch: Good question. I think that’s going to be evolving as we go throughout the course of the season, but we’re definitely looking at two things this year. One is to push as many players up to the first team, but also get points and results as well. What’s successful? We can define that just yet, but we’ll establish ourselves this year and have some measurable goals for us to reach next year.