Hey guys, Dave Fulk here. And I am so excited to be bringing you Anthony Latronica, Sporting Director of Tampa Bay United, and Stuart Campbell, the DOC of Sporting Tampa Bay, in this epic, what we’ll call an announcement, followed by kind of an interview.

So what are we here talking about?

Well, officially, we want to let everybody know that Sporting Tampa Bay and Tampa Bay United have created a partnership or an alliance. And so I know right off the bat, people are going to start speculating what the heck that means. So just jumping right into this thing, Stuart, what does that even mean?

Stuart Campbell:

For me, it’s about two clubs in the area working together to help community and most importantly to help all the soccer players.

Dave Fulk:

Awesome. Anthony, what about you?

Anthony Latronica:

Just to echo what Stuart said, for me, it’s about combining the resources, working with like-minded people and striving to bring the soccer community together.

So why is a pathway like this needed and why has it not been done before?

Anthony Latronica:

Dave, to be perfectly honest with you, I don’t know. I arrived to Tampa about 14 months ago. And my prior experience in Florida as a national team coach, I always thought this market had a ton of potential. And as I arrived and I spent time here, I kind of realized that the market was kind of segregated and that kind of bothered me. And so I started to reach out to different clubs and obviously I met Stuart for the first time. And I just think people aren’t always open-minded about taking the game and the community to the next level.

So speaking of Stuart, how did the relationship between you and him kind of start?

Anthony Latronica:

Well again, when you’re new in town, you’re trying to get the landscape of the area. And I know that Stuart had a very good soccer background and for me that’s really appealing. And so I reached out to him and we started a conversation and over time that developed. And we realized how much we had in common about our philosophical beliefs on the game, about players, player development. And obviously he’s a really good person and those are the type of people I want to spend time with and align our club with and hopefully share our resources with him and his entire staff and club.

Dave Fulk:

That’s really cool. Well, Anthony, we know you’re kind of the new guy to town, as you said, being here 14 months or so. Stuart, you’ve been around a little bit longer than that. You’ve got a good foothold within the community, especially the Tampa Bay community and in soccer.

How excited are you for something like this to finally be happening? And why do you think it’s taken this long to get to that point?

Stuart Campbell:

Well, firstly, I’m really excited. Like he said, when Anthony and I started talking months and months ago, it was really good just to talk soccer on the phone. We probably drove our wives mad because we wouldn’t get off. We’re very like-minded, which is great, about a lot of things. And we have the same philosophy. And most importantly, we looked at the market. Like I said, I’ve been in the area eight years, been involved, this could be my first full year leading the club. And I looked at it and I was absolutely astounded why clubs in the area don’t work together. I believe if the clubs work together, you’re going to create great pathways for the children. Most importantly, you’re going to develop the kids and they’re going to go on and achieve what they want to achieve, as long as we all work together instead of working against each other.

Dave Fulk:

That’s a great point. Obviously TBU has got some history and been around a long time. You bring your qualifications to the game. Both of us have strengths and weaknesses. And so by being able to join forces, if you will, and sharing resources,

How is this relationship going to benefit the kids and the coaches of each organization?

Anthony Latronica:

I mean, from my perspective, it’s a fresh start, and not only for the athletes, but for the coaches as well. And so this is a partnership that goes deeper than just the surface. This is a longterm move to impact player development. But it’s also to impact coach development and open up our resources and share in multifaceted things such as talent development plans, training modules, sponsorships, just little things that make a big difference for youth soccer clubs.

Dave Fulk:

Right? So what are the, I mean, this is just kind of we’ve talked about this and you really wanted to make that impact. I’ve had the fortunate ability of talking to you, Anthony. You really want to make that impact on the Tampa Bay soccer community.

How do you see this partnership being step one of that? And kind of what are the longterm objectives for this initiative?

Anthony Latronica:

So for me, I think it’s the first step as us being the leaders in the market. And I actually think people are wanting that. I think things have been stagnant for awhile and I think people want to take on a new path. And so what I’m hoping is the longterm effect is this is just the beginning of creating this coalition of soccer people. And I’m hoping that with this example, other people are going to join us.

Dave Fulk:

I like the word that you used, soccer leaders in the marketplace, really wanting to make an impact on the youth sports. Stuart, I’ve had the fortunate privilege of knowing you for many years and knowing what kind of an impact that you want to make, not only to your backyard community, but the Tampa Bay community and the whole. Of all the changes that need to be made in American soccer, this seems like a great first step.

What are the next steps for you? What’s beyond this?

Stuart Campbell:

I think it’s to show everybody that if you come together and work together, you’re going to develop the players. That’s the one biggest point that I look at. We can sit and talk and talk and talk, but we’re going to prove of this partnership alliance, affiliation, that if you work together, two good clubs with a like-minded philosophy, a clear direction, a clear pathway, if you like, regarding curriculum, obviously on the field, the resources that we can offer our coaches, we’re going to prove more work.

Dave Fulk:

How is this relationship going to allow you to better identify talent and offer them additional resources? And what does that look like?

Is it going to open up different leagues to both clubs?

Anthony Latronica:

I think for me, it’s really two components. It broadens our player pool, first and foremost. So by sharing in the development process, we’re going to be able to give more young players the opportunity and access to the top leagues that this country has to offer. And they’re right here in Tampa. Fortunately, the one thing that really attracted me to TBU was it has every league on the boys and girls side. And for the first time, some of these kids will have the opportunity to compete at a national level. And for me, the market has been too closed. We want to open that up. We want to provide opportunity these players, but we want to do it in the right way. We want to work together with other clubs to provide their players opportunities.

Stuart Campbell:

And from our standpoint, forget how well Anthony and I get on off the field. To me, that was one of the biggest components of strike up this partnership, how open they were to giving players the opportunity to go and play at a higher league. Whereas, as you said, it’s been closed off before. People that felt like, to me, to be the one willing to work together. And for me, that was one of the biggest components regarding how open they wanted to give players the exposure that they deserved, no matter what club they’re actually playing at.

Dave Fulk:

Well, I’ll tell you one of the questions I personally have, and it’s kind of a two-part question again for each of you. Anthony, specifically,

Why Sporting Tampa Bay and why now? And Stuart, why TBU and why now?

Anthony Latronica:

Well, for me, everything I’ve done since I arrived here is bringing in right people and develop a culture that is based around people. And for me, why Sporting Tampa Bay, it’s because of the people. That was number one. If Stuart and I didn’t develop a connection and I didn’t develop a connection with his staff and my staff and their staff, it would never happen. That’s the most important piece is the people. As far as the timing is concerned, everything we’ve done up until this point has been very organic. And so it’s not like we planned it for this date and time. What’s really cool is it couldn’t be better timing, especially for what we’ve gone through in the last nine weeks. This is the time where people need to band together, where communities need to come together, soccer clubs, leagues, society, need to come together. So it’s actually turned out really, really well from a timing standpoint.