BEAVERTON — Jay Vidovich said coaching Timbers 2 is a new challenge for him after three decades coaching college soccer. And that challenge is straightforward: Develop young soccer players into players who can help the Portland Timbers win games.
“The majority of the job is to make sure someone from my team makes it to Caleb (Porter’s) team,” Vidovich said.
Timbers 2, or T2, is the new United Soccer League team that will serve as a developmental platform for Portland’s Major League Soccer club. Monday was the first training session for the new club, which Vidovich will guide after spending almost 30 years coaching college soccer at Wake Forest University.
Among the players on hand for the first day of T2 training was Camas High graduate Brent Richards. Richards suffered a knee injury in the Timbers training camp two years ago.
The club has not yet announced any player signings for Timbers 2. Vidovich said that four or five of the players on hand Monday have signed with Timbers 2, while most of the players were trying out for the team.
He said he expects T2 to carry about 14 players full time, allowing for players on the Timbers roster who need playing time or to rehabilitate from an injury to play with the USL team.
Rookie forwards Christian Volesky and Kharlton Belmar — recent Timbers draft picks — began training with T2 on Monday. Second-year winger Schillo Tshuma also trained with T2 on Monday, but Vidovich said that was only to get Tshuma some additional training.
After three decades working within the limitations imposed by NCAA rules, Vidovich said he is looking forward to coaching T2 over 30 weeks.
“In college, at the end of my season this year when I got knocked out of the tournament, I had to wait until Aug. 15 to have my next practice,” he noted.
The T2 league schedule will be 28 games, beginning on March 29 against the Real Monarchs of Salt Lake at the University of Portland.
Vidovich said that coaching the USL team will give him more time to develop young players who dream of becoming established professionals. He said USL provides a better structure for player development than was possible coaching college soccer.
“I also think when we start looking at the MLS, I think it’s in a situation right now where it can really grow and I’m excited about being a part of that,” Vidovich said.
