Brantford Galaxy unveil new coach, new philosophy

Bosko Borjan, left, with new Brantford Galaxy head coach Ron Davidson.

Brantford almost lost its professional soccer club during the offseason.
But with a new head coach and new ownership structure committed to putting a quality product on
the field, the Brantford Galaxy are returning for another season.

In two short years of existence, the Galaxy have experienced the high of winning the Canadian
Soccer League championship in the team’s inaugural season and the low of missing the playoffs
with near-empty stands.

Now, with changes in ownership that have removed the club’s European backers, the team’s upper
management is banking on Brant residents coming out to see professional soccer this season.
“Make no mistake, we have fully committed to Brantford,” Galaxy managing director Gerry Crnic
said. “We are banking that we made the right decision.” Just how close did the team come to folding following its 9-14-3 record last season? “Really close,” Crnic said. But Crnic and owner Bosko Borjan made the decision to go it alone without the club’s European ownership.

“This team was the dream child of some folks in Europe,” Crnic said. “But they are gone now. The
ownership structure has now changed. The relationship last year was strained because of some of
the differences between Canadian and European soccer culture.” Crnic said the philosophy of putting a strong soccer product on the field combined with a focus on youth development programs has not changed. To that end, the team has brought in a new head coach.

Ron Davidson brings an impressive resume that includes playing in high levels of soccer in Canada
and the United States, as well as coaching in several different capacities. Davidson was coach of the Hamilton Croatia CSL team that lost to the Galaxy in the 2010 championship game. He was named the CSL’s coach of the year in 2010, following up his coach of the year award in the Ontario Soccer League in 2009. “I see (the Galaxy) as a very progressive club with good reports coming out about the youth program,” Davidson said. “The marriage between the CSL and its youth club was very important to me.”

Davidson has just finished a job managing a youth soccer program in Hamilton and strongly
believes in developing an organization from within. “Imports are not a priority for me,” Davidson said. “My hope will be to play and develop from our own ranks as much as possible.” Having played and coached across North America, Davidson intends to bring players to the Galaxy that are part of his extended soccer network. He is also hoping for a good atmosphere at Lions Park during the Galaxy’s 11 home games this season. “I like coaching for an audience,” Davidson said. “I don’t like empty stands.” To fill seats, the Galaxy are reaching out for more community partners this season and hoping the seeds they planted during the past two years in youth soccer begin to bear fruit.

“We need to bring the level of interest up,” Crnic said. “Last year, there were obstacles during a
transition period and it didn’t allow us to commit to advertising and promoting properly.” To start, the Galaxy are going below the CSL’s recommended admission minimums and offering a $10 ticket price for adults. A season pass is available for all 11 games for $59.99. Passes will go on sale starting Friday.

“This is a highly important entity to maintain,” Galaxy youth president Jon Macklin said. “The city and
county have a huge soccer base. We need to rally them around this team, support the players and
make sure it is known this is something we want to keep.” The Galaxy held first team tryouts with Davidson observing players in Brantford and Hamilton over the weekend.

The season begins on May 6 with an away game against the York Region Shooters. The Galaxy
open at home on May 20 against the TFC Academy.