International Soccer Network

"Your Source for the Beautiful Game"

Category Archives: Galveston Pirate

Hurricanes Sign Defender

The Houston Hurricanes are proud to announce the signing of defender Joshua Brieva.

“I signed Josh after watching him in two tryouts,” head coach Thiago Reis commented. ”I told him it’s up to him now to make the starting 11.″

Brieva will join other 11 players who have already made the squad.  Coach Reis is still looking to bring in 14 more players so he has competition for every spot.

“It’s exciting to sign for a team like the Houston Hurricanes FC,” Brieva added. “It is a new chapter in my life. I will be able to improve with this team and with Coach Reis instructing me on the field I can only improve from here and hopefully make a name for the team and myself.”

The Houston Hurricanes have been very busy working on getting the starting 11 and building up the team from the ground up. The next tryouts are February 23rd and 24th at 12950 Sugar Ridge Blvd., Stafford, Texas 77477 from 12 pm – 3:00 pm.  For more information call 832-748-1001 or by email at info@houstonhurricanesfc.com to get more details.

Hurricanes Name Reis Head Coach

Houston Hurricanes FC is proud to announce the appointment of Thiago Reis as head coach.

“The search is over,” Hurricanes President Brendan Keyes stated. “We’ve got our man.”

Reis brings a multitude of experience as a player and coach to the Houston club. He has previously served as head coach of the Club America Academy, Director of Operations at 3v3 Street Soccer, and head coach of Galveston Pirate SC.

“I am very happy to be part of a club with a rich history,” Reis proclaimed. “I am looking forward to getting started right away.”

The University of Houston graduate hopes to make the team competitive in their first season and have a strong run in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Hurricanes will play in a revamped South Central Conference in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid.

This conference is extremely competitive with several new clubs joining the fold for the 2013 season. Among them is a team that will surely be a rival to the Hurricanes, Liverpool Warriors. The Warriors recently joined the NPSL with the hopes of a Texas derby taking center stage this summer.

The first order of business for Reis will be the club’s open tryouts this Thursday at the Chester L. Davis Sportsplex in League City, TX.

“All players will have to work hard and be dedicated to make my team,” Reis concluded. “I want to give the City of Houston a team to be proud of.”

The Houston Hurricanes are Back!

First, it was the New York Cosmos coming back to life in the NASL after a nearly 30-year hiatus. Today, Galveston Pirate SC owner Brendan Keyes does it in the NPSL, bringing back his former club after nearly a dozen years without a competitive match.

Keyes will move his Galveston NPSL side to Houston and rebrand the team as the Hurricanes. The Pirate brand will continue to play in tournaments and in the Texas State League, while the new Houston Hurricanes will take the place of the Galveston team in the NPSL’s South Region-South Central Conference.

“The Houston Hurricanes were always my first choice and dream name,” Keyes stated. “I was with the Hurricanes back in my playing days. I worked as a trainer with the team, doing tryouts, and helping out the team in any way I could. So it was always my dream to have the Houston Hurricanes in the NPSL.”

Keyes, a huge Celtic fan, always idolized Bobby Lennox, an SPL legend that played for the original Hurricanes in 1978-1979. Lennox played in the NASL at a time when Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia, and George Best starred in the American top-flight. Lennox and his beloved Celtic are certainly big influences for Keyes as he develops plans for his new team.

The move to Houston already has the blessing of league officials and former Hurricanes owner Joey Serralta.

“It’s a better market for him and us,” NPSL Chairman Andy Zorovich stated. “We wish him much success with the new Hurricanes.”

The Hurricanes didn’t wait long to make their first splash on the pitch, signing Justin Ross. He is a 19-year-old left midfielder from Mercer University. Ross will go into the history books as the first Hurricanes player in the NPSL.

“I am elated and so excited about next season,” Keyes added. “We look forward to a new beginning and making new history for the Hurricanes.”

The next step is further tryouts in January, February, and March to get ready for the start of the NPSL season in May.

Galveston Pirate Goes International

Galveston Pirate head coach Brendan Keyes is sharing his years of coaching experience with the world, literally.  Keyes is leading a delegation of professional coaches and players to India and Mexico with the purpose of offering top-flight instruction in an international camp format.

These events should be great publicity for his Galveston squad and the NPSL as a whole.

Keyes will be joined in India by former I-League coach Mohamed Nizam Packeer Ally and former Ireland Women’s National Team coach Noel Mulhall.  Ally currently serves as Director of Football for the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, while Mulhall remains one of the most coveted coaches in all of Ireland.

Five Pirate players will also be participating in the camp that will take place in Mumbai on February 11-15, 2013.  It will be a great opportunity for them to see soccer in a booming market.

“India is the fastest growing country in terms of soccer,” Keyes stated. “They have more kids playing soccer than anywhere else.”

India has become a hotbed for soccer thanks to an emerging middle class, a huge population, and a passion for the sport.  Their I-League is quickly becoming one of Asia’s best professional leagues in a country known for cricket.

But it certainly could be a country known for the beautiful game thanks to the success of Indian players worldwide.  It all started with Baichung Bhutia, who made history in 1999 as the first Indian footballer to play in Europe.  Today Sunil Chhetri is making waves in Portugal as only the third Indian pro ever to play abroad.

But there is no doubting the country’s potential and the talent of their players.

“It reminds me of America 25 years ago,” Keyes added. “It is an open market, a golden nugget.”

Keyes knows this firsthand as his club signed midfielder Pratik Shinde to a contract in 2011, making him the youngest Indian player to ever sign with a foreign club.  The 15-year-old had been courted by Spanish clubs before landing in the U.S. under the watchful eye of Keyes.

In a few months Keyes will head to Mumbai to share his expertise and passion for the world’s most popular sport.   But that is not the end of his global tour as another international camp is planned for July 2013 in Queretaro de Arteaga, Mexico. Keyes will be joined in Mexico by Oscar Carrillio, a player-coach with Galveston in 2012.

A Season in the Minors: Life in the NPSL (Part III)

Galveston Pirate SC vs Monterrey Rayados Reserves

With multiple newspaper photographers, Spanish channel Azteca 51, and about 500 spectators many were expecting the Galveston SC  to be a recipient of an old fashion beatdown. But they would be surprised by our gameplay and the final outcome.

Going up against one of the biggest clubs in the Americas put a lot of doubt in the head of Pirate supporters and even some of the players. As the captain I had to alleviate that negativity, letting my team know that if we play as a unit, we could definitely come out on top.

Many of the players had not played on a “stage” this big or in front of that many people and the nervousness showed somewhat early. Monterrey displayed their quick 1-2 passes and give-and-gos and caught us sleeping 13 minutes in with a goal. With minor adjustments we shutdown their runs and passes, and began showing some Pirate tenacity.

We shocked a lot of people by coming out and dominating the second half, but we couldn’t stick the ball on the back of the net. With 13 minutes left in the game, a supposedly “unintentional” handball cost us a second goal. Despite maintaining possession the majority of the final 10 minutes, saves from a great Rayados goalkeeper and multiple crossbar/posts hits prevented us from getting on the scoreboard.

An unfortunate loss reassured players and fans alike,that the Galveston Pirate SC can compete with the “big dogs.” Soccer is a game of opportunity. It presented itself several times, but we weren’t able to capitalize on it.

An article in our local Galveston Daily newspaper stated, “Many Rayados fans, sporting the trademark ‘Bimbo sponsored’ jerseys, left as Pirate fans.” This was just another step in our club’s progression, showing that we’re bringing life back to competitive sports on the island.

-RJ McNair, Galveston Pirate SC Captain