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A Rochester Jr. Rhinos – All the Ingredients team is the goalie coach. t first glance, the Rochester Jr. Rhinos pro-active we have no issues with the state There is no formal structure that association. would seem to have all the With coaching staff in place disadvantages that a club could links the youth club to the professional suffer the club has four coaches who hold team, but there is an entente that from: a relatively scattered population works in an essentially rural landscape; a to the benefit of both. national A licenses, as well as the services of Warren Rayner who holds a In other resources too the club is savage climate and field-play schedule UEFA National A License. an FA Full fortunate. For the typical youth soccer that allows them an eight-week playing club almost anywhere in the country, season; a high-school season that remembers the early days. a start slices through the fall season; fields are in scarce supply. The Rhinos, The team that won the national ti by contrast, almost have an date in mid-May that allows a short embarrassment of riches. time to prepare for regionals. If (Under-15 last season) has been a A someone proposed starting a club in local real estate developer who has good team since they were little boy two Rochester, on the evidence it would boys in the club recently had the he recalls. The reached the regiona take a lunatic to buy the idea. opportunity to buy an athletic facility final as U-13 and U-14 players. Then But the evidence doesn t tell from local giant Eastman Kodak. This the received a phone call from Chris App has been turned into an impressive whole story. There are other factors who had been the interim coach at asset with a 120,000 sq. ft. indoor that outweigh the basic grim facts. Notre Dame and was coming back home to Rochester. facility, including a full-sized field and Jim Mort, the club s president, mentions the ethnic mix I asked him if he would coach thi two boarded fields. Adjacent to that are almost every 60 acres with adequate outdoor fields. soccer-playing country is represented boys At that has spawned a passion for soccerthe same time as this was being best teams in the country. They re one of t He must have thought I was an idiot. developed, a Rochester Baptist church in the city. team, adding Now, with a national title to thei There was always a robust amateur There is no formal association between the professional team, the he explains. Then there were the Rochester Rhinos, and the youth club, Rochester Junior Rhinos, but the Rochester Lancers, an NASL team. I informal ties are certainly to the benefit of the young aspiring players. remember the Lancers playing against Tommy Tanner (above) is captain of the pro team and involved heavily in the New York Cosmos with Pele and coaching youngsters, while Canadian national team goalkeeper Pat Onstad all their stars on the high school (right) helps with goalkeeper training. football field, and the Lancers beat league here in the 1950s and 1960s, credit, the boys give Jim s words so credibility. Nor is it just one team that gives club its reputation. The Rhinos are them. Badge and was Centre of Excellence The Lancers were succeeded by offered the club the use of another 90 the Coach at Bradford City, AFC, England acres with developed soccer fields. Rochester Flash after the demise of the from NASL. The tradition continued. These, like the Eastman Kodak land, 1995 to 2002, with excellent facilities and strong community So strong is the tradition of have sport the excellent playing surfaces. support, the Rhinos have had a USA in Rochester that, according to a In summary, then, Rochester has remarkable four years since the club turned out Today article last year, the city has the to be a remarkably fertile was formed in 1999. An impressive base highest number of kids per capita of for a youth club. All the elements any American city. record of state titles and appearances seem to have fallen into place of their in the regional finals makes Jim Mott So much for the raw material. own accord. And there is more. smile. There is one other piece to the puzzle. The presence of then Raging Rhinos, Whereas many clubs and It s been a really exciting ride for four years, the local professional team and league spend their waking days in 1999 conflict with their USYSA state US Cup champions, is a huge asset. Not he chuckles. ranked fourth in the region and 15th The club has certainly established the country in the GotSoccer table; organisation, the Rhinos have had itself in a scant four years. Players travel and FC Delco are ahead PDA, Bethesda simply because it raises the profile of nothing but support from the New York radius of 150 miles to play them in Region I. Small wonder th from a of with soccer but also because the team West Youth Soccer Association. the Rhinos teams. The David and the David/Goliath frame of mind is o captain Tommy Tanner is the club s Director of Coaching; Pat Onstad, We ve had nothing but support Goliath feeling diminishes each the decline. year as former Dundee United goalkeeper from them, with commented Jim Mort. recognition of the club s achievements now it may be the boys that The Right State Coach Glen Buckley has been over 30 caps for the Canadian national becomes more widespread. Jim Mort are making headlines, but the most 28 • March 2 003 • Goal Indoor