Every year at the MLS Player Combine, groups of college athletes from around the country are bunched together in teams and tasked with impressing coaches and general managers from around the league.
The same was true for Real Salt Lake Technical Director Dane Murphy in 2008 when he finished his collegiate career at the University of Virginia. He went through the paces at the combine in hopes of hearing his name called at the SuperDraft, and while that didn’t happen, he did get signed by D.C. United, where he played two seasons before venturing abroad.
The experience at the combine gave Murphy a different perspective as he rated players this week in preparation for the 2018 MLS SuperDraft on Friday in Philadelphia.
“The thing I remember the most is being so nervous. You just show up and you don’t know what to expect and try to put your best effort forth,” he said. “As a player, you’re not in your comfort zone, but you have to perform and catch a coach’s eye.”
Through the first two days of games, Real Salt Lake is confident they can get a player that will fit their system – whether at the MLS level or with Real Monarchs SLC in the USL. Holding the tenth overall pick, RSL’s technical staff came to Orlando – the site of the 2018 Player Combine – with a list of ten players of interest. While players have shifted positions within that list, the list of ten players hasn’t changed. That’s a testament to the homework the staff did prior to seeing the potential draftees in person at the combine.
“If you come here without doing your homework, it’s useless,” Head Scout Andy Williams said. “You may as well just throw a dart at the wall and whoever you hit you pick.”
After each match, the staff of General Manager Craig Waibel, Murphy, Williams, Head Coach Mike Petke and Real Monarchs Assistant General Manager Dan Egner meet to discuss the performances and assess the players.
Each of them uses a different set of criteria that will ultimately lead to RSL’s selection on Friday. For Murphy, the primary focus is on dealing with the unique situations the players find themselves in during the games.
“I look at the composure. It’s a high-stress environment and with new guys, but just being composed and playing simply and keeping the ball moving and making right decisions,” Murphy said. “Those guys that are doing that consistently, the game looks easy for them. Those are the guys that stand out to me.”
The third day of matches at the combine will be Wednesday as the clubs take one last look at the prospective talent before the SuperDraft kicks off on Friday.
