It's March, sports fans! It's almost time for the first pitch of the season!
No, not that type of pitch, hurtling toward the catcher's mitt — the other type of pitch.
It's time for the Spokane Velocity — the city's new pro men's soccer team — to take the field (i.e., the pitch) for their inaugural season at the new ONE Spokane Stadium across the street from Spokane Arena.
Spokane's newest squad kicks off the season this Saturday, March 16 at 2 pm with a showdown against the Richmond Kickers. The Velocity play in the 12-team USL League One, which is officially in the third tier of U.S. pro soccer behind Major League Soccer and USL Championship. The Velocity's 32-game USL League One season will stretch until at least October, with potential playoffs to follow.
The man tapped to guide this new era of soccer in Spokane is Liverpool native Leigh Veidman. Before heading to Washington, Veidman was an assistant coach for the Charleston Battery, which made the USL Championship Final last season.
When constructing the inaugural roster for the Velocity, Veidman had very distinct intentions to match his preferred aggressive brand of football. The roster mixes veterans like French defender and former MLS All-Star Romain Métanire and longtime MLS midfielder Luis Gil with promising young talent such as defender Ahmed Longmire (the No. 10 pick in the 2022 MLS Superdraft) and midfielder Pierre Reedy, whom Veidman specifically brought along from the Charleston Battery.
"The intent with building the squad was largely finding players who had a bit of a chip on their shoulder: They're hungry for more, they're hungry to show more, they're hungry to show what they can do with their first contract," Veidman says. "But on the opposite end of the spectrum, you've got Romain, you've got Luis, you've got the more experienced guys who provide a good balance. And they kind of lead those guys and show those guys what it's like to be a true pro."
For the new fans looking to single out a favorite player, the most obvious choice would be the one with a local-ish connection, Derek Waldeck. Before winning two NCAA titles at Stanford and setting that program's record for starts, the defender and Ellensburg native spent plenty of time in the Lilac City, which makes his pseudo-homecoming with the Velocity all the more surreal.
"It's awesome. It kind of gives me chills that this is real and happening right now," Waldeck says. "I would come over to Spokane all the time [to see] our grandparents, aunts and uncles. My childhood best friend lives here. So it's really special to get to represent the city on such a cool platform and be a part of something new."
Once on the pitch, expect the Velocity to try to be on the attack.
"In general, I like to get the game going forward. I like it to be entertaining. I like to play attacking football," Veidman says. "But defensively, when we don't have the ball, I want us to be front-footed and aggressive, and go and get that ball back."
The coach does stress that fans will likely need to practice patience, and that the team probably won't be world-beaters after only being together a matter of weeks before starting the season.
"To mesh and build a team of brand new players who largely have never, ever played together before, it takes months... and sometimes more than that," Veidman says. "For me, it's about the process. Regardless of who we play against, it's about are we getting better and are we using each training session every day to improve?"
But you play to win the games, and the coach knows that to build fan momentum for Spokane's newest squad, the velocity of Velocity victories will need to be swift.
"We want to play entertaining soccer. We want to give the fans something enjoyable to watch," Veidman says. "But part of that enjoyment is winning." ♦
Spokane Velocity vs. Richmond Kickers • Sat, March 16 at 2 pm • $21-$41 • ONE Spokane Stadium • 501 W. Gardner Ave. • spokanevelocityfc.com • Airs on SWX
