Photo by Indy Eleven

By RYAN TOLMICH

Off the field, Indy Eleven is experiencing plenty of success. Boasting one of the league’s highest attendance totals, Indy Eleven has shattered the idea of a sophomore slump while developing a major presence in its home city.

However, for team president Peter Wilt, the off-the-field successes were not quite enough.

The team parted ways with head coach Juergen Sommer on Monday before officially announcing the departure of the team’s first ever coach on Tuesday afternoon. A noticeably downtrodden Wilt was quick to point out how much Sommer had given the organization, but, following a string of poor results and a U.S. Open Cup elimination, the Indy Eleven president knew a change needed to be made.

“I’m an emotional guy,” Wilt told SBI. “I get too high with the highs and I get too low with the lows, I’m aware of that personality flaw, and I try to achieve balance. Often time, I fail at that. I am most passionate about the play on the field, so yeah, it’s been a difficult year.

“Our fans have been more patient than I have been, and were more patient than Jurgen was. He was never satisfied with the results and wasn’t happy about it, so yeah it’s been difficult for me in a time when a lot of people think I should be jumping up and celebrating because of the off-the-field stuff. I’ve been unable to do that because of this.”

Wilt says that in recent weeks, it became obvious that the team was “not going down a good road that was going to change”. As a result, a change came Monday in the form of Tim Regan, who was named the team’s interim head coach and director of soccer Tuesday.

Regan, Wilt says, reminds the Indy Eleven president of another coach that he has previously worked with. As president of the Chicago Fire, Wilt’s first head coaching hire was Bob Bradley, who coached Regan during his tenure at Chivas USA.

Wilt says that, like Bradley, Regan has a way of connecting with his players, and will be given the opportunity to do so and earn the job on a permanent basis. The President says that Regan’s position will be reassessed in July, while the roles of head coach and director of soccer will likely remain linked together for as long as the team maintains its current structure.

Regardless, Wilt believes that Regan has the chops to earn the job and, in the process, help turn around a frustrating Indy Eleven campaign.

“He’s sensitive to the fact that every player has his own situation and needs to be treated that way,” Wilt said. “He also is a decisive individual. He’s someone that will listen and get input from various trusted sources and in the end make his own decision. All those qualities remind me of a certain head coach I hired in Chicago in October 1997. That coach is responsible for plenty of hardware with the Chicago Fire, and Tim comes from that same coaching tree.

“It’s been difficult, but it’s starting to get better as people realize that Tim is going to take this team in a positive direction. He’s respected by the players. He’s excellent and he’s prepared for this position, and he’ll receive every opportunity to make it his own. At the same time, we’ll use this time to see what options are out there. I have a responsibility to ascertain what other coaches are available and interested and at some point in the near future, likely some time in July, make a decision on whether we retain Tim going forward or an outside coach.”

For now, Wilt is looking to remain focused on the play on the field. While the ultimate goal remains an NASL championship, Wilt understands that the process of getting there will be a difficult one.

In need of a strong fall campaign, Wilt holds firm that Indy Eleven has a roster of players that can contend in the NASL. With the current group, as well as some midseason acquisitions, Wilt is looking towards the future, one more positive than recent weeks.

“I believe we have a good group of players, a group of players that are capable of performing better than we have, better than the results that we have,” Wilt said. “I believe that Tim’s leadership is what we need to see that through. I am confident that the Fall season will be significantly better than the Spring season.

“I don’t know if too many teams can go worst to first in the same year, but I do believe that we have the ingredients to improve significantly and during the break between the Spring and the Fall, there will likely be some adjustments made with the team, as we did last year. Last year, the adjustments certainly had good results and made some improvements heading into the Fall season last year, and we expect the same this year.”

Here are some more of Thursday’s NASL news and notes:

LAING CALLED UP BY JAMAICA FOR COPA AMERICA

The prestigious Copa America will take place in Chile this summer, and FC Edmonton midfielder Lance Laing will be a part of the action.

Laing will be a part of Jamaica’s 23-man roster for this summer’s tournament, which kicks off on June 11. The midfielder has recorded four goals and six assists in 2015.

“Through Lance’s terrific play with the Eddies he’s managed to get himself on the 23 for the one of the biggest competitions in the world,” FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller said of Laing’s call up.. “We are very proud of him.

“Lance has been at the heart of our attacking play and deserves this enormous compliment that he has being given by the Jamaican Football Federation. He goes with all of our best wishes and I’m sure all of the Eddies fans will support him.”

NASL PLAYERS CALLED IN FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

With CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers just around the corner, several NASL players will be called in to their respective national teams.

Canadians Nana Attakora and Julian De Guzman have both been called in for a two-legged series against Dominica that will kick off June 11 in Roseau before returning to Toronto on June 16 for the home-leg at BMO Field.

Carolina RailHawks midfielder Chris Nurse will join the Guyana national team for a series against St. Vincent Grenadines that will start June 10 before finishing up four days later.

FInally, El Salvador’s Richie Menjivar will join his country to face Chile in a friendly on Friday before taking on Saint Kitts and Nevis on June 11 and 16.