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Spotlight on Caleb Porter

CalebPorterCOY (Getty)

By IVES GALARCEP

As the Portland Timbers prepare for their all-important Western Conference semifinal second leg against the Seattle Sounders, the spotlight is on head coach Caleb Porter as he continues to enjoy a dream first season in charge of the Timbers.

I recently completed a lengthy profile piece on Porter for Overlap Magazine, which goes into detail about Porter’s background, and the road he took from baby born in Cascadia, to one of the most respected coaches in MLS.

You can find the original piece in the latest edition of Overlap, the digital magazine you can download for both iPads and iPhones, as well as Androids. The Overlap version includes a variety of photos from Porter’s past, and some quality artwork.

Give the story a read and let me know what you think of the closer look at Portland’s man in charge in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. Been following Caleb Porter since I kept up with Akron during the 2012 season. I’m a NY Red Bulls fan at heart, but really tough not to like the guy as a coach. Nice piece, Ives.

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  2. Excellent article Ives!

    As a native of the Akron-Canton area, I was proud of the way Caleb Porter put Akron on the national soccer stage. His Akron players who have seamlessly transitioned into professionals are a testament to his coaching skills. Thus, when Portland hired Porter, I became an instant Timbers fan.

    As we near the end of his obviously successful Timbers season, Caleb Porter has more than justified the faith that the Portland folks had in him. When Porter was initially appointed, the soccer boards were full of negative comments regarding the U-23 crash, or that MLS was a big boy league, not suited for an inexperienced college coach. I am happy that Porter was able to prove the naysayers wrong.

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  3. Ives you wrote a great soccer article about Caleb Porter which describes the motivation and dedication which turned a very determined midfield soccer player into a great soccer coach. Portland and the Timbers are VERY lucky and fortunate to have hired such a talented and knowledgeable young soccer coach. CONGRATULATIONS Coach Porter for selecting, training, motivating the Timbers and applying very effective possession, pressure, defense and offense skills. Don’t allow the Sounders off the hook on Thursday at home – just like in 1975 when the Timbers knocked them off in Portland to go to the NASL Soccer Bowl!!

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  4. Well done, nicely written. I was a fan of his prior and thought he would do well in MLS, but wow… pretty remarkable what Porter has done in Portland in such a short amount of time.

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  5. Excellent piece. As a Sounders Fan predisposed towards hating everything Portland, I’m kinda ashamed to admit I like Porter a lot. I suppose its the WA roots.

    Seems like a great guy, he’s obviously a great coach and the Timbers getting better makes the Sounders v Timbers rivalry more interesting.

    Nice work, Ives.

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  6. I have been trying to read this story for a while now but apparently my android phone doesn’t support Overlap, and the NBC Sports link says “sorry, this could not be found.” Is there ANYWHERE I can just easily read about how great Caleb Porter is?

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    • It’s weird that the link didn’t work for you. I just tried it again and it worked fine. Maybe try a different computer?

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      • Yeah, wasn’t working on my phone but got it on my computer. Excellent piece Ives, from someone who has been following Porter while studying at Akron and has continued to follow him at Portland, this was a very good read.

  7. great read. i really like these high-quality editorials like Overlap, Howler, XI..

    Porter’s story is great too, I didn’t know much about his youth & playing career but the Akron–>USu23’s–>Portland story is quite a ride.

    Reply

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