For the New England Revolution, their tradition of draft excellence started with Fernando Clavijo's selection of Taylor Twellman with the second overall pick in the 2002 SuperDraft.
Revolution head coach Steve Nicol has built on Clavijo's move by selecting Pat Noonan (2003, ninth overall), Clint Dempsey (2004, eighth overall), Andy Dorman (2004, 58th overall), Michael Parkhurst (2005, ninth overall) and Wells Thompson (2007, fifth overall).
For a home-grown team that relies primarily on domestic players, wise drafting represents necessity rather than luxury.
Revolution assistant coach Paul Mariner believes his team's success in the SuperDraft can be attributed to numerous factors, including one particularly uncontrollable influence.
"It's a conglomeration of a lot of things, plus a bit of luck," Mariner said. "Sometimes, it works out for us, sometimes it doesn't. It's not an exact science, but we enjoy it."
The conglomeration starts with hard work. Preparing for the draft doesn't start when the MLS season ends. Once college teams take to the field in late August and early September, the New England coaching staff, which includes Nicol, Mariner and goalkeeping coach Gwynne Williams, spends time watching games.
"As soon as the college season starts, we start looking at games," Mariner said.
Mariner said the Revolution staff usually limits itself to games in the Boston area. Most of the time, that means trips to Chestnut Hill to check out Boston College in Atlantic Coast Conference play, which this year provided the NCAA College Cup top seed in the Eagles and the eventual NCAA champion in Wake Forest.
"We get down there every opportunity we can," Mariner said.
Time and financial considerations mean the Revs usually rely on video and word of mouth to keep tabs on players outside the region. The coaching staff also evaluates talent at the ACC tournament and the NCAA College Cup.
"We use some contacts that we have out on the west coast and in the Midwest," Mariner said. "We don't travel out there. [Revolution director of broadcasting] Brad Feldman helps us out by getting us DVDs and pointing us to websites with videos."
Trying to balance preparing for league matches and scouting college games can strain resources. Yet the Revolution carve out time in the schedule to get out to local college contests to keep a keen eye on burgeoning talent.
"We make time for it," Mariner said. "It's important for us. If it's an important game, all three of us will make sure to be there. We like to go out and watch the games. It's nice to sit down and watch a game without living and dying with it."
The evaluation process continues this weekend with the adidas MLS Player Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Mariner explained how the Revolution attacks the evaluation process by making individual assessment and pooling the information together afterwards.
"The three of us will be there," Mariner said. "We'll sit down and watch the games, maybe near each other, maybe not. We don't speak much during the combine itself. When we get back to the hotel, we meet up to compare notes and maybe point out a few players. On the first day, we'll cast our eye over the entire group. After that, maybe we'll look a little closer at particular players."
The combine process can make picking those special players out of the crowd a chore, but Mariner said the combine has its advantages in evaluating players for the pro level.
"It's not easy," Mariner said. "There are all sorts of dynamics in play. They aren't familiar to their teammates or their surroundings. But that's part and parcel of the professional environment. You have to adapt. In that sense, it's a good thing. We know it's arduous for them. We do try to take that into consideration, but they have to show something and give a good account of themselves."
Mariner said his team has its eye on a couple of players, yet he notes it's difficult to expect a Dempsey or a Parkhurst out of the draft every season.
"There are some players you know that can come in and do a job," Mariner said, citing the impact of Toronto FC's Maurice Edu last season. "But it depends on where you're picking and the depth of the draft if that player will fall to you."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
