In the latest part of our ongoing series, we head behind the scenes at New York Red Bulls Arena to meet Academy Director Bob Montgomery, who developed a taste for Toffees as a boyhood fan of EPL club Everton, before exporting his passion for the game to the Big Apple.
Bob Montgomery
New York Red Bulls Director of Youth Programs
How and when did you start playing soccer?
My mother is from England and we moved back to there, to Liverpool, when I was six. Every other Saturday I used to go to watch Everton in Liverpool… that’s when my passion for soccer began.
When you look back which players did you most admire when you where younger?
Everton had a great team back then… they won the League that year, so the players I really admired at that time were all from Everton – Bobby Collins, Alex Young, Albert Dunlop – he was the goalkeeper – and Brian Labone… these were my heroes but most people today wouldn’t remember them.
It's a safe bet that Everton was your favourite club?
Yes Everton was the club… actually I used to think that Everton was the only club. My uncle was an Evertonian and we only ever went to Everton matches. I’ve never even been to Anfield (the home of Everton’s rivals Liverpool, located across Stanley Park). Actually as Everton fans we’d never set foot in their ground…never… that’s how people are there.
And when did you come back to the US?
Couple of years later. I was about eight years old and there was very little soccer at that time in the US. I did play but just with friends and relatives. But when I was about 13 I joined an Irish club in Long Island – Rockland Soccer Club.
Why didn’t you take up American football, baseball, basketball or ice hockey?
Well, I played a lot of other sports because all my friends did but I found a way to continue to play soccer and I really enjoyed it
What makes soccer so specia?
Soccer is a player sport. The players make a lot of decisions on their own, they make the decisions on the field, they work as a team, they make adjustments…it’s less coach-directed than American sports like American Football, basketball or baseball where the coaches make nearly all the decisions and the players just run around and follow commands.
As the Director of Youth Programs at New York Red Bulls, your job is to persuade young Americans to follow soccer.
It’s my lifelong dream to see soccer growing here in the United States and becoming a popular sport. It’s grown a hundredfold from the time when I started playing. We are developing better players. I got closely involved in the Olympic program, so I could see young people grow and that is something I really enjoy. I can oversee the development of young players, make sure they go in the right direction and eventually see them take their place among the ranks of the professionals.
How is it for you to work as the Director of Youth Programs at a club like the New York Red Bulls?
This is a tremendous opportunity because Red Bull is the most progressive and professional soccer organization in the country. Our youth academy is far more developed as most in the MLS and clearly is very different from the typical American youth. So I think we have the opportunity to help change the culture in this country. We were the first club to go totally free…that means here the boys who joins the academy are not going to be charged for playing here. And since then also other clubs have gone forward and are gone free or started with specific scholarships and I think that will definitely have a good impact on the game nationwide.
Do you still watch the Premier League?
Of course. I watch all the big games. But that’s not just for fun that’s also because I want to keep learning and growing.
And do you still cheer for Everton?
Well I don’t get to see them as much as I’d like as I am pretty busy with our academy but I do catch them a few times a year.
What do you love most about your job?
Working with the players… it’s interesting to see them develop and grow because it is not a steady thing: They grow for a while, they level off on a plateau, there are times when you think they have reached their limit and then all of a sudden they’ll grow again and improve as players.
And how do you like to relax away from your work?
On the golf course. I really enjoy golf. Unfortunately it is a game that involves a lot of practice which I have no time for and it takes a long time to play…so I don’t get out to play enough. But the few times when I get a break I do enjoy going around and frustrating myself on a golf course.
What is your favourite hotspot in New York/New Jersey?
That’s simple: The beach!
And what are your visions for the future?
I think we are now being recognised as one of the top academies in the US, but I know we have still a long way to go. My dream is that one say I’ll see 11 players who’ve come through the Red Bull Academy running out on to the Red Bull Arena pitch. That would be the greatest.
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