CARY, N.C. – University of Virginia midfielder Eric Bird didn’t make a huge impact in the Cavaliers’ College Cup final victory over UCLA on Sunday, playing just 36 minutes in the ‘Hoos’ shootout win due to a lingering groin injury first suffered last month.
But don’t mistake his relative anonymity on Sunday for a lack of quality. A two-time All-American, Bird’s got plenty of skill, and he hopes to show it off in MLS next season.
One of Virginia’s senior leaders, Bird was officially invited to the 2015 MLS Combine last week. The 5-foot-11 central midfielder will attend the proving ground in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from Jan. 8-13, playing in front of MLS technical staffs ahead of the Jan. 15 SuperDraft.
“I’m just going to soak it all up and enjoy it,” Bird told MLSsoccer.com after Sunday’s championship. “It’s an honor to even be invited to the Combine with 55 other well-deserving guys. I’m just going to take it in stride, never get too high, never get too low and see where I end up.”
Described to MLSsoccer.com last week by a league scout as having “excellent feet” and being “a lot quicker and faster than his size lets on,” Bird led Virginia with five goals and two assists in 19 appearances this year. He finished his college career with 15 goals and 10 assists in 73 games.
For now, Bird is focused on getting healthy, planning on rehabbing his groin injury and a knock to the back suffered early in the season in order to be at full speed for the Combine.
He’s been in touch with several Virginia alums currently in MLS regarding what’s in store for him in the draft process, leaning most heavily on Hunter Jumper, who served as a student assistant at Virginia this season after leaving the Chicago Fire in August to recover from injuries first sustained in a car wreck last year.
“I’ve been talking to a bunch of [alums in MLS],” Bird said. “They’re helping me through it. Basically, they give me pointers every once in a while whenever they feel it’s necessary, just been telling me the same thing since I got to college, work hard and good things will happen to you.
“I think I’m extremely coachable, very adaptable and I’ll give it 120 percent every single day. I’ll work my butt off. That’s kind of my game. Throw a little bit of talent in there too, and good things can happen.”
