On February 27th, Combine Academy coach Bob Reasso attended our private sporting event at the Rafael Bolaños Stadium to recruit student athletes for his athletic program.
17 placement service clients demonstrated their athletic prowess. Some took the opportunity to enhance their profile through the video service provided by our company, while those between the ages of 14 and 18 sought the chance to be recruited at Combine, a top-tier international boarding school with academic prestige and professional sports performance center located in North Carolina.
Reasso's experience is extensive and his studies were mainly in the old continent. However, he worked for more than 30 years as coach of Rutgers University (D1) and later, he directed the Pfeiffer Falcons, taking them from last place, to be NCAA Division II champions in 2015.
Throughout his career, he won the National Coach of the Year award twice and has prepared 60 players who have gone on to play professionally, 24 of them reached the MLS. Two of his outstanding students are Peter Vermes and Alexi Lalas.
Vermes, is a former Rutgers student athlete, former U.S. national team player, former player on MLS teams and current coach of Sporting Kansas City.
On the other hand, Alexi Lalas was a student athlete at Rutgers, former U.S. Men's National Team player, first American to play in the Italian Serie A, former MLS player and current soccer analyst for Fox Sports.
Without a doubt, Reasso carries a highly prestigious trajectory, so after the event we took advantage of his presence to conduct a short interview about the event, his experience and the institution he works for.
What did you think of the organization of the event?
I think it is a first class event. Propella does an absolutely fabulous job, I have visited six countries this year and they are the best group I have ever dealt with.
What do you think about the level of sportsmanship you witnessed during the event?
I was very pleased with the level of play. First of all, I am fortunate to have hosted student athletes from Costa Rica and Propella before, they are exceptional players and very good students. I saw many talented players last night, players who can come to the United States and be very successful at Division 1 and Division 2 institutions.
How do you think the experience of going to Combine Academy can benefit student-athletes?
I think the first experience they're going to have is cultural and that's going to prepare them to go to college. At Combine they have the opportunity to be in another country, get used to the food, get used to the environment, get used to the competitive rigors of high-level soccer and that will only help them as they get to college.
What sets Combine Academy apart from other institutions of the same nature?
I think the biggest advantage we have is that we have a very competitive schedule. We only play 20% of the games within our age group. So, 80% of our games are against colleges that can actually recruit student athletes and we play in the top men's semi-pro league in the country. Every week our guys line up against players 22 and up, and this is the best way to get better.
How can student athletes benefit from your coaching experience?
My experience is not like the experience of a typical American coach, of course I have my license, but most of my studies have been in Europe. I studied in Barcelona three times, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United and coaching a team is basically observing, you see something you like and you add it to your repertoire, you see this drill or this way of doing things and you add it to your repertoire. So when young people come to Combine Academy, I'm not going to train them like a youth coach, I'm not going to train them like a college coach, I'm going to train them like a professional coach and I'm going to ask them to walk, talk, act and play like professional players every day.
How does the placement process work at Combine Academy?
When a student athlete comes to our institution, what we do is evaluate them as a player and begin to analyze the level at which they could go on to compete. Then my colleagues and I become their college counselors and we develop templates for them with personal information such as their speed, size, strength, and all the academics. We videotape them, break them down and start marketing them to colleges within the geographic area they would like to go to school. So, eventually I'm the counselor, I'm the one who picks up the phone and calls coaches from different institutions to try to get the right option both academically and athletically for the young men.
.jpg)
.jpg)
