Salvatore Piraine: Taking DCFC Into Uncharted Waters
Last year, with some fanfare, Detroit City FC announced major plans for the future and a brand new club expansion. After 8 years of playing men’s soccer in multiple leagues (NPSL, NISA), the rouge and gold are entering new territory by rolling out a women’s side into the United Women’s Soccer. The club is known for having talented sides and supporters as notorious as any player on the field. As the kickoff to the next UWS season approaches, we sat down with head coach Salvatore Piraine to discuss how he’s preparing his club for their first season in a new league.
You've been coaching since 2002, can you talk about the path that brought you to Detroit City FC?
I have been coaching for a while now, and I would say in the last 10 years I have not only coached in the youth game, but also with some men’s amateur teams over the summers. So the level of summer "Semi-pro" summer ball is something that helped me get to this point.. The relationship now with Detroit City FC and the youth affiliates has also helped with the working relationship we have created.
DCFC has a strong track record for sustainable growth, what made the time right for a WOSO side?
Couple things that I think has made this the right time for the club to add a UWS side. The level of soccer for females has grown within the UWS and the state of Michigan, along with the strong support of the female side of our youth affiliates made it a no brainer to put out a women's team to compete.
Do you feel extra pressure to succeed because of the DCFC brand?
I wouldn't say that I feel pressure but do expect for us to compete immediately... It is always tough coming into an established division of a league and try to compete immediately but there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to. There will be definite learning moments that we will have being new to the league, but again, expect for us to learn and grow during the season to hopefully be competing in July.
What sort of support do you expect from the Northern Guard?
I feel that we will have massive support for the City faithful just based on the large amount of support we have already received. We had over 1,000 fans at our first ever tryout in January and the support via all social media has been amazing… Super excited!!!
Where are you in the process of staffing and roster building?
I would say that I have my staff in place, with maybe 1 or 2 volunteer opportunities that I am working on. As for the roster, it is a work in progress. Making sure that I am building a team that will buy into the culture we are trying to create. With the season being so short, my goal is to build a side that will work hard for me and each other. It is not necessarily what college you play or have played for, but more of buying in to what we want here at DCFC.
You’re building a roster from local talent, so how did your tryouts go?
We had 67 players turn up for tryouts and the level of play was good. I was able to narrow the number down and currently have a smaller pool of players that I am still looking at.
What are your expectations for season one?
Like mentioned above I would like to compete immediately. The UWS division we are playing in has teams that have challenged for a title so this division is not a walk in the park. I am looking for us to be as competitive as we can, that is all i can ask of the ladies...
The UWS site hasn't been updated yet, but I assume you'll be playing in the Midwest conference, several clubs familiar to DCFC from NPSL competition, plus Detroit Sun. Who do you see as rivals from day one?
Tough to say, I am sure every match will feel like an immediate rivalry but to just name one team, I cannot do.
How will you measure success this season?
I think we will sit at the end and take a look at what we accomplished and from there we will make the necessary changes for the following years if needed.